Tablet mania suggests more dark days ahead for teachers,pupils
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During the past few weeks, newspapers have been flooded with reports about the government's one tablet per child (Otep) scheme.
The focus, however, is mostly on when the government can deliver the devices to 900,000 Prathom-1 students nationwide. To date, nothing is clear because ministers and senior government officials have kept changing the date for signing the tablet-purchase contract.
Nevertheless, tablet mania seems to have caught on as the public and authorities become excited about when the devices will arrive.
The delay in the tablet purchase attracted wide interest because many influential figures had earlier boasted so much about Otep and expressed confidence the tablets would reach all Prathom 1 students well before the beginning of the new academic year. Most Thai schools will kick off the 2012 academic year in mid-May.
This anticipation comes amid a mountain of questions about how useful the tablets really will be for teaching Thai students. In fact, when the Otep was first announced, several educators warned the devices would be of little use if they were not downloaded with the proper content.
The Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) insists it now has 336 learning objects ready for use by the tablets in Prathom-1 classrooms. However, it has never clearly said how it has come up with these learning objects within such a short period of time.
Another major concern is that learning efficiency teachers need extensive training before they are ready to guide students in tablet use.
The Education Ministry has just found out that the tablet-purchase contract will not be concluded in time. As a result it has started the process of buying some 500 tablets for a batch of selected teachers. These teachers are scheduled to receive extensive tablet training after which they are expected to engage in “train the trainers” programmes.
When the country walked into its second decade of educational reform a few years ago, it was agreed the quality of teachers was the key to the delivery of quality educational services. However, when the current government unveiled the Otep, authorities seemed to lose sight of their key goal and its real substance.
Suwit Beungbua, who works for the Education Ministry’s bureau of technology for teaching and learning, said tablets would be useless if left unused.
The possibility of older teachers shunning the devices is high.
According to the bureau’s chief, Dr Anek Ratpiyapakorn, between 60 and 70 percent of Prathom-1 teachers are between 45 and 50 years of age.
“People in this age group are slower learners. Our tablet training for them will involve some repetitive activities to ensure they understand and will be able to use the devices in their classes,” he said.
However, several of the older teachers are not optimistic. They feel arrival of the tablets for daily class activities will mean their days as teachers are numbered.
Fear of the tablets is said to be spreading like a disease among the older teachers.
According to a young teacher, her 50-year-old mother is one of the Prathom-1 teachers and so worried about the tablet that she has planned to take an early retirement programme.
The mother’s worst fear is that she may be laughed at when her students ask about the tablets and she is unable to provide answers.
This is a sad fact. At 50, this experienced teacher has already demonstrated how well she can teach and supervise young students.
If one looks deep down, one will realise that tablets are just tools. They are not the core of education.
Therefore, even when authorities show interest in adding a new tool, they should ignore it as a core of educational reform.
They need to ensure they have provided adequate training for teachers in order for these teachers to know how best to deliver quality human resources for Thailand’s future.
CHULARAT SAENGPASSA
The Nation
