Recognizing the opportunities and challenges that technology, especially artificial intelligence, brings to the education sector, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Thursday, Sept. 21, proposed three critical actions that must be taken to ensure educators and learners harness the full potential of modern technology.

(Artificial Intelligence/Pixabay)

In her keynote speech for the 2023 Global Education and Innovation Summit (GEIS), the official lamented how AI evoked “shame” and “fear” because there are still apprehensions on how it will impact education.

“We now live in an era where undeniably, technology must be harnessed to improve access, quality and equality in education. And the advent of artificial intelligence will certainly create another paradigm shift in education,” she said.

“While this possibility will present newer and greater opportunities, it will also present many uncertainties in our vision of digital education,” Duterte added.

She made such remarks after also acknowledging that the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as other disruptions to education like weather disturbances, kept children away from school social settings and opened the gates for digital education.

To address these, Duterte proposed three things, with the first one based on what experts agree on are the four pillars of digital education—critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.

The Vice President said that the “paramount consideration” for using technology in education should be based on those four elements.

Second, Duterte stressed the need to “be responsive to the effects of technology in our educational systems.”

“This means recognizing quickly what is not working and change it, to continuously improve even if it is a success and to always keep in mind that the most important result is not the technology itself, but how it affects the development of our learners,” she added.

Duterte, who is the council president of Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) for 2023-2025, also underscored the importance of end-users studying the “adaptability and sustainability of new technology” before its implementation.

“This is in line with the thought that government programs and policies should be designed according to the behavior of people. We must recognize that some technologies may work for one ecosystem, but it may not work for others. It is the teachers and students who will be using it that will determine its effectivity,” she said.

As learning departs from traditional classrooms, Duterte urged education leaders and experts gathered in the summit must make “molding of productive and peaceful global citizens, equipped with 21st century skills, but with a heart for nation-building” the “ultimate result of all our efforts.”