KUALA LUMPUR: Parents need to learn about developments in the digital economy to help guide their children in an evolving educational environment, urges Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).
This will help parents not only to aid their children in their studies but also guide them in choosing courses that would best fit them at university, said its chief executive officer Surina Shukri.
“As parents, we have to prepare our kids for the future but we have to be prepared as well,” she said.
“Therefore, we need to take this opportunity to educate ourselves.”
Surina added that there was a growing demand for digital skills, making an education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects essential.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2018, among the Top 10 emerging jobs were data analyst, artificial intelligence and machine learning specialist as well as general managers.
Speaking at the launch of the #mydigitalmaker Fair, Surina said it was a positive sign that some 20,000 parents and teachers were expected to attend the event over the weekend.
She said the fair, now in its third year, had sparked an interest in STEM among 700,000 students and trained 80,000 teachers.
During the fair, MDEC ran its techstudy.my platform, an AI profiling tool that helps students identify courses and scholarships in digital-related courses.
Many parents and student groups were seen checking out the various booths run by universities like University Technology Malaysia, Asia Pacific University and Multimedia University.
Engineer-turned-teacher Yeong Sue Ann said inculcating digital literacy for students was a holistic effort needing the participation of all parties.
“It takes a village to raise a child,” she said while speaking at the Teacher’s Paradigm for the Industrial Revolution 4.0 forum.
She gave an example of how in SMK Taman Megah Ria in Johor where she teaches, she could run programming classes with the support of the school and MDEC, as well as several other parties which provided funding and internship opportunities.
Microsoft Innovative educator Wan Azrina Mohd Zuki said another helpful digital tool was gamification – making a game of work to engage students in novel ways.
At her school, SMK Kubang Kerian in Kelantan, she had students play the video game Minecraft to help them learn about design and architecture in a fun and interactive way.
TAGS / KEYWORDS:
Digital Economy
Source: TheStar