Teachers urged to be ‘leaders of change’

KUALA LUMPUR: ABOUT 1,000 parents and teachers attended the Leaps of Knowledge Conference held recently.

The conference, with the theme Inspiring Changemakers in Education, was presented by FrogAsia Sdn Bhd and sponsored by YTL Foundation to give an insight into the local education industry.

FrogAsia Sdn Bhd executive director Lou Yeoh said with the rise of social media, calls for change could be done quickly.

“We want to train educators to be the change-makers and lead the momentum of change that will reshape education in Malaysia for years to come,” she said.

During the morning session, three speakers talked on how educators could be agents of positive change through the use of technology and Internet.

They were Accelerated Learning in the Classroom author Alistair Smith, Amazon Kids, Nick Jr, and Cartoon Network programme developer and writer Dr Alice Wilder, and SK Ulu Lubai head teacher Jaul Anak Bunyau.

After the lunch break, the participants were divided into four groups for workshops.

Later in the evening, Sport for Freedom founder Julia Immomen delivered her speech, followed by a dialogue session with panel guests consisting of Wilder, Education Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad, Education Ministry director general of education Datuk Sri Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof and New Straits Times Press group managing editor Datuk Abdul Jalil Hamid.

During the discussion, Jalil said the media industry also had to move with the times.

“With technology constantly changing, our products are not limited to the print media but are diversified with digital interaction to convey information.

“The same thing is happening in the education industry, where the teacher’s role is becoming increasingly challenging to ensure that they are able to provide a suitable learning environment with the development of technology today and the future,” he said.

Meanwhile, Khair said the commitment of teachers would inspire the ministry to make classroom learning more interesting for both teachers and students.

“It is important for the students to keep up with technology or they will left behind and will not be able to meet future challenges.

“Classroom learning should be fun, interactive and focused on students to encourage them to have interest in their studies,” he said. 

Datuk Abdul Jalil Hamid (right) share his thoughts in a dialogue session at the conference while Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad and Datuk Sri Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof look on.