Digital transformation may be an absolute necessity for education today. Students can get a better learning experience with digital education transformation, but some challenges must be faced. Education is around and must be developed properly such as with digital transformation.
To find out more about digital transformation in education, you can check out the following discussion.
About Digital Transformation
If you previously used analog technology, now it’s digital, that’s digital transformation. It is now so modern that many things in this world have turned digital. Meanwhile, the education sector is one of those affected by digitalization.
Of course, the impact on education is mostly positive. Digital transformation can support the best system changes for learning activities. There are many digital systems for the education sector, maybe you know about the “digital library”, that is one of them and there are many others.
We no longer need to visit the library building, just prepare your gadget that is connected to the internet and access the digital library.
Benefits of Digital Transformation in Education
Due to the advancing digital transformation, the impact is very visible in the world of education. To start learning, we can open our gadgets, and open the group provided by the relevant class to access the online classroom link. Many platforms can be used for online learning such as Skype, Zoom, and Google Meet.
So what benefits can we get from digital transformation, especially for the education sector?
1. Easier Access To Lesson Content
The digital system makes it easier for us to access a variety of course content, for example by typing lesson keywords into Google or search engines. Then the search results according to the keywords will automatically come out and can be used for our learning sessions.
2. Efficient
We can save money and time with digital transformation in education. Digital transformation makes us not always have to buy books, some books even have very expensive prices. As a more modern alternative, we can easily access e-books.
Many campuses or schools provide e-books on their websites so that students can download the e-book files to study. The digital learning system also saves time, we no longer have to wake up early to catch the time to go to campus or school.
The existence of digital education means that we only need to be prepared to open our gadgets to attend class sessions.
3. Environmentally Friendly
E-books bring us closer to eco-friendly goodness. Many have started to become aware of the paperless program, this program aims to reduce the intensity of paper use. By going paperless, we can better protect the health of our environment.
4. Easy To Document
If we still have access to the e-book or save the e-book file, then we can quickly and easily document the file anywhere and anytime. Apart from the points above, many more benefits can be gained from digital education.
What are the Challenges of Implementing Digital Transformation in the Education Sector?
Digital transformation can offer many benefits as discussed above. However, there are various challenges due to digital transformation that we need to overcome to maintain the quality of education.
1. Digital Divide
When we talk about the challenges of digital transformation, the digital divide/ gap needs to be highlighted, including for the education sector. Some students may not have sufficient access to a stable internet connection, and devices that can support digital learning. This is a fact, even though the internet is getting closer to many people’s lives nowadays.
Because of this problem, the gap between students who can access educational technology and those who cannot will grow. Educational institutions and the government must be able to create programs and policies that can be a solution to the problem. Access to technology must be equally available for all students to learn comfortably and effectively.
The government needs to ensure that those with weak economies can continue to learn according to the standards of digital transformation that apply in their country.
2. Teacher Competence To Meet Standards
The digital divide is a key issue for digital transformation in education. However, other challenges also need to be addressed in the world of digital education. Increasing the competence and expertise of educators must also be ensured so that it does not become a problem later.
Teachers must be able to master every educational technology needed and be adept at integrating each technology into every learning session efficiently and effectively. To achieve this, extra support may be needed such as providing adequate training for educators so that they can utilize educational technology appropriately.
With training, teachers are expected to develop their learning techniques or strategies.
3. Privacy And Security
Education is around but crime is around too. Another challenge in digital education transformation is privacy and security. Each student’s data must be well guarded, various cyber security measures may have to be implemented to ensure privacy security. Educational institutions must have clear procedures and policies for data protection solutions.
As we all know, the advancement of digital technology is followed by the potential for cybercrime to become more intense. Cybercrime can occur in various forms or methods, which makes prevention more complex. For digital education transformation to have its best benefits, it is necessary to strive for the best prevention of potential cybercrime as well.
Digital Education Transformation For The Next Generation
Although there are many challenges in digital education transformation, there are still great opportunities and benefits, especially for future generations. Digital transformation will open up a new, broader view of access to education that is creative, effective, and inclusive.
The next generation can develop a wide range of skills from digital, creative, collaborative, and critical skills. All of these are needed to succeed in life, and to do so, technology must help. The role of digital education transformation can also provide a good opportunity to overcome the problem of educational disparities both between regions and between countries.
If there is easy access to educational resources for every student including those living in remote areas, their education will be on par with the quality of education in urban areas. This solution can create equity in the quality of education.
With the transformation of digital education, future generations will have great opportunities to develop knowledge, competencies, and skills. Education is around and has a big impact on the welfare of society. We must maintain the quality of education by following digital transformation.