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eLearning education for Thai teachers. Arthur Morse Bangkok, Thailand arthur.morse@gmail.com Kanit Khaimook School of Information Technology Institute of Social Technology, Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand kkanit@sut.ac.th Piboon Paonil
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eLearning education for Thai teachers Arthur Morse Bangkok, Thailand arthur.morse@gmail.com Kanit Khaimook School of Information Technology Institute of Social Technology, Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand kkanit@sut.ac.th Piboon Paonil Chandrakasem Rajaphat University, Bangkok, Thailand nai9997@hotmail.com Suwat Suktrisul Bangkok, Thailand suwatss@yahoo.com
Introducing eLearning in Thailand • Immense benefits to be gained • Students: • are keen and willing to learn using eLearning • like animation, movement and colour • like exercises with instant answers • found science and mathematics more interesting • found lessons easier to follow and time passed quickly • Technology: • LMS has improved, easy to use by designers and users • Content: • Enhanced designs of LMS make it easier to upload content • Wide variety of free of charge content is available on www • Teachers: • Not enough teachers are ready
Teachers • Shortage of well qualified teachers: • especially in the fields of mathematics, science and languages e.g., English language • especially outside the main cities • Teachers: • Can be reluctant to take on something new unless they can see it will replace existing activities • Need time to: • learn and understand how to search Internet to find new content and integrate it with existing lessons • appreciate how the content can assist students to understand difficult concepts • understand the value of blended learning • gain confidence in working with new technology and concepts
Key issues for Teachers Becoming familiar with LMS Searching Internet to find new content to enhance student interest Shortage of teachers in specialist functions and In remote areas Confidence of teachers working with new technology and content
Encouraging signs • Teachers are prepared to devote time to learn how eLearning works • Head teachers and School Directors are providing support especially for the teachers who are keen to adopt eLearning • New training and Master Degree programmes are providing valuable support for teachers who wish to learn about eLearning in a formal structured course.
Education Reform in Thailand Major reform introduced in 1999 with changes in: Education Administration Curriculum Development Teaching Methods and Teachers’ Development Public participation introduced in Education Management Constitution Law: Government should provide 12 years of basic education free of charge 6
Ten years after the Reform started Education management has changed 79 Education Administration Regions established However… Education quality has not improved Lack of qualified teachers especially in key functions: Science, mathematics and foreign languages Insufficient teachers in the rural areas Secondary effects People who can choose select schools or universities with a good reputation Result: many schools/ universities under utilised 7
OBEC Evaluation of Education Quality OBEC – Office of Basic Education Commission Responsible for: Kindergartens, primary and secondary education Conducted study of education 2001 to 2006 National Academic Test Results Performance in main subject areas is less than 50% Results have not improved over time 8
National Academic Test ResultsBasic Education Academic years 2001 to 2006 Source http://bet.obec.go.th /equ 9
Annual Education Budget 2007 to 2010(millions of Thai Baht) Source:www.bob.go.th/bbhome/page.asp * Not include Thai Stronger Budget 10
One way forward Ten years of Education Reform should have been sufficient to produce positive trends Especially since the Education Budget is increasing It is possible to conclude that the conventional education process cannot produce the desired results Maybe it is time for eLearning to play an important role 11
OBEC eLearning Project Project started in 2007 Objectives: to enable every school to utilise eLearning to develop a user friendly LMS to develop contents samples in every subject Suranaree Technology University was assigned to develop the LMS and the contents samples These are now ready to be delivered to all schools Schools lack the teachers with sufficient knowledge to bring the system into use 12
Teacher Training Programs Many teacher training programs have been developed One of the most important is a Masters Degree in eLearning ChandrakasemRajaphat University is one of the first to introduce a Masters Degree in eLearning 13