By: Irsyad Zamjani

In her 2022 book The Equality Machine: Harnessing Digital Technology for a Brighter, More Inclusive Future, Orly Lobel posits that our relationship with digital technology is inherently ambivalent, viewing it as both servant and master, promising opportunities yet raising concerns.

However, Lobel contends that, without disregarding its risks and adverse impacts, digital technology can and must become a significant force for social welfare: justice, inclusion, economic growth, innovation and especially equity.

Education stands out as a key social sector where equalizing access and service quality are paramount virtues. In this regard, technology continues to evolve to become increasingly relevant in efforts to achieve educational goals, especially when conventional methods reach their limits.

For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, technology provided alternative learning methods when all schools had to suspend in-person learning. With technological assistance, the majority of students were able to participate in learning activities although their schools were closed.

Another pressing education issue currently under scrutiny is training teachers for continuous professional development (CPD). This is vital, as educators must adapt to new pedagogical issues and knowledge.

Students today access abundant information and are exposed to diverse lifestyles, demanding that educators innovate their teaching methods to meet students’ needs. However, not all teachers have equal opportunities.

Scale is a challenge, with over 4 million teachers that need training. Formal training is often rotated, depending on government resources and teacher readiness. Distance presents another obstacle: Teacher training centers are often concentrated in provincial capitals, disadvantaging teachers living elsewhere.

Additionally, training schedules may not align with school calendars, impacting students' learning time.

Dancing with technology
Training millions of teachers to adapt to the rapidly changing dynamics can no longer rely solely on conventional approaches. It's uncertain how many years it will take for every teacher to have equal opportunity in training.

Moreover, structured and tiered training approaches as a means of CPD have long faced criticism (Butler et al., 2004). Teachers are adult learners who are inherently capable of self-regulated learning.

Additionally, pedagogical issues are constantly evolving, and not all can be addressed by training curricula that are sometimes rigid. Alongside mentoring-based training, experts have advocated for CPD approaches based on self-directed and collaborative learning.

In this context, what teachers need are quality learning resources that they can contextualize with their pedagogical needs on one hand, and learning communities where they can exchange knowledge, issues and best practices on the other. Technology can support this.

Since 2022, the government has been running a digital platform that provides numerous, quality learning resources for teachers.

Called Platform Merdeka Mengajar (independent teaching platform), or PMM, it contains training materials, teaching modules, books and webinars as well as inspirational videos on teaching practices. These materials have been professionally curated as references so teachers can learn independently. 

By 2023, no fewer than 2.7 million teachers had accessed PMM, with monthly users ranging from 700,000 to 1 million.

During that year, 543,000 elementary and junior high school teachers had completed at least one training module on PMM, compared to conventional training reaching just 48,000 elementary and junior high teachers over the same period.

Fostering a learning culture
Materials that are learned independently can also serve as discussion topics in various learning communities that exist both within and between schools.

A survey by MoECRT in 2023 found that 76 percent of teachers were actively engaged in intraschool learning communities and 61 percent in interschool learning communities. The rest were either not actively involved or not involved at all.

Through these communities, teachers can not only discuss new insights gained from self-learning, but also collectively produce new and authentic knowledge based on the real problems they face.

Through PMM, these learning community activities can be expanded beyond geographical boundaries. Teachers and school principals can register their learning communities on PMM to facilitate scheduling and conduct joint learning activities.

Moreover, they can also participate in the activities of other learning communities. Among the teachers with learning communities registered on PMM, 79 percent say they have participated in the activities of other learning communities.

Observing impacts
Since 2022, teachers at schools that have voluntarily opted to implement Kurikulum Merdeka (Independent Curriculum) have been learning independently about this new curriculum through the materials available on PMM as well as collaboratively through organic learning communities. The government offers no formal, tiered in-person training.

Despite differences in implementation quality, this approach has proven effective in helping teachers understand the new curriculum.

This can be seen from their students' learning outcomes in the 2021 to 2023 National Assessments, as reported on the Education Scorecard platform. 

There is a trend among schools implementing the new curriculum to have better learning progress compared to schools using the 2013 curriculum, including those in disadvantaged districts.

In these districts, elementary schools that adopted Kurikulum Merdeka in 2022 have done better in literacy (7.90 points) compared to those using the old curriculum (3.94 points).

Challenges
Using technology to support CPD is not new. Many countries have rolled out such initiatives, even in developing countries that generally face challenges in scale and infrastructure. Hennessy (2022), for example, conducted a systematic review of 170 studies on technology-based initiatives for CPD in lower-to-middle-income countries.

Besides a number of positive impacts, especially regarding more equal and inclusive opportunities, these initiatives are also not without challenges, and at least three challenges are relevant to the Indonesian context.

First is access to technology, both physically and cognitively. Although the use of digital technology is becoming more widespread, not all groups have access. Even if they do, not all are technologically proficient.

Second is attitude toward technology. Because these initiatives are oriented towards behavioral change, there are certainly some groups resistant to new ways that disrupt their comfort zones. Conversely, some who accept it may struggle with the autonomy provided.

Choosing from thousands of available materials and adapting them to learning needs is easier said than done. Some teachers feel overwhelmed because they feel they have to take everything. This often leads to a pragmatic approach, such as choosing what makes it easier to obtain a certificate.

Third, the limitations of technology itself. Although technology helps expand learning opportunities, nothing beats the depth of quality direct interaction. The limitations of dialogue space between learning resources and learners open up potential misconceptions and misinterpretations.

These challenges underscore the need to continually improve the quality of technology utilization. Equally important is the principle that technology is a means and not an end. The main learning arena is the organic forums of learning communities and practitioners where educators can exchange and improve their understanding. 

These activities need to be encouraged continuously to deepen quality learning for teachers, whose opportunities have been widened with technological assistance.

First posted in: The Jakarta Post
Photo source: The Jakarta Post