The Digital Class: Learning in the 21st Century
Abi Sujak, Timbul Pardede and Elvin Khoirunnisa
SEAMEO SEAMOLEC
Bantem, Indonesia
Ministers of Education of the member countries of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) have agreed to make seven agenda items promoting basic education programmes as a guide to policy-making in SEAMEO until 2035. One of these involves applying a 21st century curriculum that promotes knowledge, skills, and values to prepare students to become global citizens. The Indonesian government will seek to develop this 21st century curriculum. The curriculum also promotes the skills that students need to have, including mastery of information technology and communication. The optimal use of information and communication technology in education is being explored. This paper describes the concept of the Digital Class as a way of using information technology to answer the educational challenges in Indonesia and promoting goals-motivated students who will succeed in the 21st century curriculum. The Digital Class concept proposed also raises the issue of cooperation among the countries in Southeast Asia in the field of education, with the long-term aim of improving its quality for all citizens of ASEAN and beyond. SEAMOLEC, as one Centre under SEAMEO, is developing open and distance learning (ODL) through a Digital Class Programme that started in early 2015. This programme has three levels: Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. The basic level starts by giving an online test (OT/UDJ) to students and creates collaboration between students and teachers in schools, provinces and countries in Southeast Asia through a social learning network platform, which trains the student in higher-order thinking skills (HOTS), communication, collaboration and creativity.