Getting Ready with Hybrid Learning, 25,000 Teachers from 34 Provinces in Indonesia Innovate Their Teaching Methods by Participating in the 21st Century Digital Skills Training

 |   Indonesia News Center

The opening of “The 21st Century Digital Skills Training”

Jakarta, 28 May 2021 – As education transforms into hybrid, digital literacy is playing an increasingly important role. Therefore, Microsoft, supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, is organizing “The 21st Century Digital Skills Training”, a free digital skilling program for teachers throughout Indonesia. Around 25,000 teachers from 34 provinces in Indonesia and Indonesian Schools Abroad have enrolled in the program.

“Pandemic encourages us to adapt more quickly with technological developments, including in education. For this reason, it’s crucial to have a synergy between various parties in improving the digital skills of education actors. Microsoft’s free digital skills training for teachers is a good initiative as it can help education actors in Indonesia to be better prepared with hybrid learning. This training is so important because teachers are the main driver of digital transformation in education. With growth mindset, I am optimistic we can realize the digital transformation of education for Merdeka Belajar in Indonesia,” said Dr. Iwan Syahril, Ph.D., Director General for Teachers and Education Personnel of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology during the opening ceremony of the training.

The training is divided into two classes, namely basic (open to all teachers) and intermediate (open to teachers who have passed the basic class). Basic class focuses on basic technology skills such as using basic features of Outlook, Microsoft Teams, and Notebook Classes. Meanwhile, the intermediate class focuses on transforming the learning experience in digital classrooms, as well as work automation in education, such as by using Microsoft Planner, Minecraft, and Power Automate.

In this 2021, around 80% of the participants are taking the basic class, with the other 20% intermediate. The virtual training will take place from June 14th to 17th, 2021, where teachers can finish the classes according to their own timing.

Teachers are ready to innovate, increasing teaching capacity and providing a conducive learning experience for students in Indonesia

Yandri Soeyono, a teacher from SMAN 3 Southeast Maluku and the initiator of ‘Maluku Belajar’ community who is also a member of the Microsoft Innovator Educator Expert (MIEE), shared his experience in utilizing technology to increase the teachers’ capacity.

Initiated in Maluku in 2017, ‘Maluku Belajar’ is a community where teachers throughout Indonesia are empowered to share their knowledge to each other. One of the main activities of this community is trainings, such as how to create e-modules, tips on getting the most out of Microsoft Excel, how to write scientific work, and more. In organizing these trainings, ‘Maluku Belajar’ uses a series of technologies. From Microsoft Form for participant registration, Microsoft Teams as the main hub and collaboration platform on the training days, to Microsoft Power Automate for the distribution of certificates to participants spread across different regions of Indonesia.

“To me, technology has improved the effectiveness and efficiency of work, and encouraged teachers to be more innovative. In addition to ‘Maluku Belajar’, technology is also very useful in administrative activities. In creating a Decree that is usually quite time consuming for example, with Microsoft Power Automate, I simply need to fill out the form in the system. From there, a Decree will be automatically produced, and I only need to add the list of Management Board, signature, and stamp. If I want to do variations on the form, I can innovate by myself using references from the internet, because this technology does not require us to do coding. Anyone can learn and use it,” said Yandri.

A similar experience is felt by Komariyanto, a teacher from SMKN 7 Semarang who is also a member of MIEE. In his daily life as an educator, Komariyanto and all teachers at SMKN 7 Semarang use technology to improve learning experience in the classroom, with Microsoft Teams as the main hub. Komariyanto said, “Technology has provided more inclusivity and innovation in the education world because the existence of online learning method allows more parties such as parents and alumni, to join in the digital classroom. Those who get access can observe the learning activities and provide input for the learning system. Apart from that, this method also provides flexibility in learning activities, where students can repeat the learning materials and learn according to their own pace. For students facing problem with internet connection, they can also re-watch the recordings that are instantly available after the class ends.”

zoom class

The trial of limited face-to-face learning at SMKN 7 Semarang

Not only in the classroom, Komariyanto who also serves as Secretary of the Online Training and Mentoring Team of Vocational School Teachers Disdikbud in Central Java Province is actively using Microsoft 365 in organizing teachers capacity building trainings in Central Java. The trainings, which have been held 10 times over one year, was attended by 800-900 teachers in each of the session. Starting from vocational school teachers, the training has been now duplicated for extraordinary school and high school teachers as well, thanks to the high enthusiasm of the teachers.

“Although we initially found it difficult to adapt to online system, the pandemic has encouraged us to adapt quickly. We are now getting used to it and experiencing the benefits of online communications. For example, with the Assignment feature in Microsoft Teams, participants can finish their tasks in a timely manner. This is because Microsoft Teams will alert participants when the deadline is approaching. Participants can also see the tasks completion status from other participants, so they feel more encouraged when the task is not finished. Not only that, the cost in organizing the training is also minimized with the existence of this online system,” Komariyanto continued.

Continuation of Microsoft’s commitment for skilling in Indonesia

Accelerating digital transformation in education is one of the crucial things in the midst of this situation. The 21st Century Digital Skills Training affirms Microsoft’s commitment to skill an additional 3 million Indonesians to achieve its goal of empowering over 24 million Indonesians by the end of 2021.

“We are pleased to see the high enthusiasm of teachers in Indonesia towards this training. We hope the materials can help teachers to increase their effectiveness and creativity in digital classrooms. That way, students in Indonesia can continue to learn productively,” said Benny Kusuma, Education Lead, Microsoft Indonesia.

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