Indonesia has one of the largest education systems in the world with over 3 million teachers across 300,000 schools. Along with that Indonesia also boasts more than 50 million students who are becoming more internet savvy day by day.
According to a study conducted by Cambridge International, Indonesian students use more internet, for education purposes, as compared to their International counterparts. It was found that about two-thirds of the entire student population used for the study, use smartphones and the internet to complete their daily homework.
This in itself is a staggering number. Students from developed countries such as the USA don’t even come close to this. And this number is growing day by day. Now the obvious question arises, with so many students going online, is there enough educational content online to meet their needs?
Educational Blogs/ Websites.
In Indonesia, there is a serious lack of quality educational content online. But there are websites like gurupendidikan.co.id who are trying to fix this issue by posting relevant and quality content for students across various curriculums. For eg., if you wanted to study about Periodik Tabel then Gurupendidikan has got you covered. The website takes you through all the relevant facts you need to know about the periodic table. From the structure to the nomenclature, this website has got it all.
Social Media
With more and more students going online, Social media is a great platform to spread good educational content. For eg. Gurupendidikan’s facebook page constantly uploads concise and relevant information regarding various subjects. They also link articles through their Facebook page so you could get a notification every time a new article goes up.
IT Suites or Computer Rooms.
According to the study done by Cambridge international, about 40% of Indonesian student use computer rooms or IT suites provided by their schools. Since these computers mostly limit the use internet, the school management should make sure that they whitelist educational blogs which provide the relevant information to the students to help them with the curriculum.
Teachers can use the internet to give students extra resources such as study materials or educational games. They can enhance the quality of the educational process through this. Teachers can also use the Internet for effective and fast communication with the students. With the use of Live chat and teleconferences, teachers and students can attend classes even though they are miles apart.
How can the Internet be a modern solution to modern problems?
- Research and interactive learning is something that students everywhere has suffered from at some time or the other. The Internet is a solution to these problems. With innumerous articles available online in sites like gurupendidikan.co.id students will have no trouble in researching various topics. And when it comes to interactive learning The Internet does it better than anyone. With various educational apps available for all smartphones, Interactive learning is just a fingertip away.
- Parents can also keep an eye on what their child is learning. Internet is an open book and the parents can easily access their child’s history and learn about his curriculum. They could also learn a bit about their child’s subject through educational blogs and help their child in understanding various concepts.
- The internet has helped in vastly personalising the knowledge you want to acquire. If a child only requires help with maths he can do that. If the child only wants help with chemistry, he can do that too. This has lead to a social autonomy on what a student wants to learn which in turn helps the student develop key decision skills and leadership skills.
- The internet is also highly cost-effective. Now students need not attend tuition classes outside or buy huge guide books to gain an understanding of their subjects. They could just fire up their laptop or smartphone and a world of information is available right at their fingertips.
- The internet also allows students to keep up with the latest happening around the world. This helps in broadening their mindsets. This also helps them understand the different opportunities around the world which they can utilize through their education.
- The Internet also allows students to prepare for examinations or quizzes through the use of multimedia. There are several videos, flash games or audio books available online which can cater to all students depending on their preference of learning.
- The Internet also various books online which wouldn’t be available offline. You could either buy ebook versions of these books or you could order them online and have it delivered to your house. This particularly useful if the subject the student is trying to study is pretty niche and the books are rare.
- Teachers can use the internet for effective communication with their students. Communication through email, for example, can help in faster assignment submission and immediate feedback. It can also facilitate communication between the teacher and the parent. These online communications can increase interaction between students and teachers and even extend their learning experiences beyond the regular tutorial.
The addition of the internet into the curriculum can help the Indonesian education system to be more efficient. Many teachers across Indonesia have supported the fact that the usage of Internet has helped students build character. Students have better aspirations now, with the internet broadening their mind more and more students are aspiring for creative job opportunities. A significant number is also looking forward to becoming the next Steve Jobs or Elon Musk by employing their entrepreneurial skills.
It is safe to say that the future of the Indonesian Education system looks bright. With the power of the Internet integrated with their education, it is very well likely that the next set of great thinkers and innovators or leaders would be from Indonesia.
As long as the educational system truly supports the growing tech demands of the young student generation then we can safely say that Indonesia is a power to be reckoned with.
Reference:
(“Indonesian students among the world’s highest users of technology“, 2019)
