Educators identify digital partnerships as the key to stakeholder success

Source: Adobe infographic. Southeast Asian respondents said building engaging and interactive learning content is a lower priority at 69%, lower than the Asia Pacific average of 74%. 

Adobe has unveiled the findings of its Creative Classrooms Through Strong Digital Partnerships study*, which has found that equipping students with the right skills for digital transformation is critical for their future success. At the same time, educational institutions which cater to the “digital native” upbringing of today’s students are more likely to engage, recruit and retain the best students. 

Creating an appropriate learning environment, however, requires collaboration with the right partners. The study reveals 74% of educators in Asia Pacific (APAC) believe that a strong digital partnership is key to connecting with students and making learning more immersive and enjoyable. 

Across Asia Pacific, educators felt that developing blended programmes for critical thinking and creative problem solving (75%) and building engaging and interactive learning content (74%) were the top two crucial areas to overcome in order to develop an effective digital learning programme. Adobe uses the industry definition of “blended programmes", which usually involves a combination of formal and informal learning, and/or online and offline learning platforms.

“Digital businesses are driving large scale technical innovations and technology trends,” said Tony Katsabaris, Senior Director for Education & Government, Adobe Asia Pacific. “It has become imperative for educational institutions to modernise, stay relevant and provide students with skills that are necessary for success after graduation. 

"Moreover, educational institutions are facing pressures to provide an adequate infrastructure, one that can only be realised through consistent training, updated technology resources and relevant course applications. Enabling success through enhanced digital experiences as part of the learning process is identified as a critical driver for educators across Asia Pacific, and 65% of those surveyed look to Adobe to provide the instructional resource and curriculum necessary for that.”

"Digital literacy will open doors to knowledge and to the market place in the 21st century. Developing digital literacy skills, whether in school or post-secondary education, will help students to communicate effectively, express and share ideas digitally, and build creativity and critical thinking skills. It will help them be more effective, to do their job well and to be better prepared for career success in the workplace," added Callistus Chong, Director, School of Design and Media, Institute of Technical Education, Singapore.

The research reveals that over the next three years, APAC educators will be focusing on creating rich learning experiences that improve student outcomes and measuring it, as well as preparing their students with the digital skills they need to be successful.

Country comparisons

· In Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), creating rich learning experiences that improve student outcomes with measurable metrics was seen as the most important factor. This is reflective of the overall APAC trend but ANZ leads the region at 92%. Educators in ANZ also place more importance on their professional development and in keeping their own professional skillset current. In this respect they are looking for support from their digital partner.

· Educators in Southeast Asia place a high emphasis on preparing students with the digital skills needed for success, with 84% of respondents saying it is important compared to the rest of the region at 80%. However, building engaging and interactive learning content is at 69%, compared to the regional average of 74%.

· A key priority for educators in India is to create rich learning experiences that improve student outcomes with measurable metrics. However an area of concern is that educators are placing less importance than the rest of the region on developing blended programmes for critical thinking and creative problem solving, with only 69% saying this is important compared to the APAC average of 75%. They are also less focused on building engaging and interactive learning content.

· Educators in Greater China rank the importance of creating collaborative platforms for students to work together higher than the regional average - 76% compared to 68%. They are also less concerned about a nurturing environment being critical to success, ranking it at 71% compared to the regional average of 88%. In a competitive education landscape like Greater China, there is pressure to differentiate institutions and curricula. Respondents ranked this higher than the regional average - 65% compared to 54%.

· Educators in Korea strongly feel the importance of a nurturing environment as a catalyst for success. This is the highest in the region at 98%, compared to the APAC average of 88%. Developing blended programmes for critical thinking and creative problem solving was seen as most important at 80%, much higher than the regional average of 75%. Similar to and even more than Greater China, 67% of respondents in Korea saw the need for institutional differentiators as a key priority in the next three years.

Interested?

Download the report and infographic 

*More than 1,300 educators across Asia Pacific were surveyed for the research report, with the aim of assessing the importance of digital resources in learning and its role in driving communication, building communities and fostering a learning culture in classrooms. Nearly 900 (888) of the educators were in K-12 education and the remainder in institutes of higher learning.