The Art of Synonymizing with Latest Teaching Modules

Dr. Zahiruddin Fitri Bin Abu Hassan, PhD, Head of Training, Academic Development and Enhancement Centre (ADEC), University of Malaya

Dr. Zahiruddin Fitri Bin Abu Hassan, PhD, Head of Training, Academic Development and Enhancement Centre (ADEC), University of Malaya

Having extensive experience in the domain, how would you describe the popularity of distance and remote learning in Malaysian universities?

Distance and remote learning are gaining traction, especially after the pandemic as a result of universities trying to find avenues for income generation amid deepening cuts in allocation from the government to fund operations. It is also a result of ever-increasing demands from students to be able to access education from alternative channels and their realization that quality eLearning resources can replace certain parts of education.

As a result, universities are looking at leveraging the current climate as well as increased readiness on the part of their educators (thanks to covid-19) to expand into more flexible ways of enabling access to their institutions which can help in ranking exercises and moving towards financial sustainability at the same time.

So, popularity is up, both on the demand and supply side.

Innovations in higher education like AI, flipped learning, classroom management tools and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are changing the face of remote learning. What, according to you, are some of the most significant challenges universities face in this age of advanced technologies?

Universities need to have a clear strategic direction as to how they position themselves to ride the current wave successfully as this innovation must be supported by investment in the workforce, technology, and equipment that are relatively expensive to provide a quality learning experience. Take remote learning for example, to support this initiative successfully, the student learning experience should be at par with learning in the classroom. They need to be able to take part in the session not just with the educators, but with all other participants both online and face-to-face. This will require investment in audio-visual equipment, bandwidth upgrades, training, and workforce at the university. This upgrading is not cheap.

Therefore, universities need to conduct a proper evaluation of ROI before committing to any new mode of learning access they hope to roll out. There is also a question of how saturated the market will be down the line if they delay getting into the innovative education market.

With technologies such as machine learning–powered teaching assistants and AR/VR that require a substantial investment in equipment, what do you think is the future of e-learning?

The future of eLearning is heading in that direction anyway i.e., Humans will be greatly assisted with smart machines increasingly. Initially and for the early adopters it is heavy on the capital expenditure, but they should be well placed to gain the potential benefit provided their strategy is clear from the beginning. Over time the cost will come down especially when the market approaches saturation.

"Strategic direction with respect to the latest innovation in AI, flipped learning, classroom management tools and MOOC that leaders wish to take, needs to be communicated clearly to the academics who will execute these strategies and they must have ownership over the innovation"

On the user side, as the economy of scale reached critical mass, it may even be free at the point of use.

Personally, I would place my bet on AR to be the future more than VR. It provides the just-in-time access to knowledge that will provide better impact and instant gratification that will be relatable to more people than VR, which to me will be like when Neo learns how to do Jujitsu when he is about to spar with Morpheus.

VR will be used in a more specialist capacity, to train for example, workers going into confined spaces safely.

Can you give us a brief background about your roles in the organizations you have worked for? How does the experience augment your role and responsibility at your current university?

I hold a PhD in civil engineering, with the specialty of concrete durability and I teach at the Faculty of Built Environment, University Malaya. However, at the same time, I served in an administrator capacity as the Head of Training, at University Malaya’s Academic Development and Enhancement Center (ADEC). This role is quite new having been heading the eLearning portfolio in ADEC since 2014 – 2022. I was also an active member of MEIPTA, the council of eLearning heads for Malaysian University and was deputy chair for 2 years, during the pandemic.

Serving this dual role at the university allowed me to connect with students and other academics and understand their pain points when dealing with the challenges in the adoption of technology assisted teaching and learning. It also shows me that there is a huge potential to be gained at the university level when there is clear strategic planning in technology adoption.

As an ending note, what is your advice for other senior leaders and CXOs working in the distance and remote learning sector?

My advice is culture eats strategy for breakfast. What I mean is the strategic direction with respect to the latest innovation in AI, flipped learning, classroom management tools and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) that leaders wish to take, needs to be communicated clearly to the academics who will execute these strategies and they must have ownership over the innovation. Academics are highly intelligent people with advance degrees and unless they believe in the potential and possibility that the innovation will enhance their career and bring benefits to their stakeholders, chances of successful deployment is going to be challenging. Change management will need to consider changing the culture as well.

Having said that, one of the best ways to change behavior, is by changing the environment that people operate in.