Indonesian Government, Telkom Agree to Develop Tablet Learning System

Tablets in schools? An iPad would be nice!

The Indonesian government has been somewhat mixed in its reactions to advancements in technology, especially over the past year. But when it comes to education no country can afford to remain in the past. Thankfully the Indonesia’s Ministry of Education is a little more progressive, jumping on the technology bandwagon by developing learning systems for the nation to be used on tablets.

In an agreement made today, the MoE will collaborate with Telkom Indonesia to prepare a tablet project called SabakMoE. “Sabak” means tablet and MoE is short for ‘Ministry of Education.’

The tablet will become a tool for students and will include content such as schedules, curricula, assignments, assessment results, and a variety of ebooks. It will also be an interactive medium between students and teachers.

Speaking to Detik about the cooperation, Eddy Kurnia, the head of corporate communications and affairs at Telkom, explains:

This program springs from the Ministry of Education’s strategy to standardize and disseminate education in a way that can only be done through ICT. That is why Telkom developed this electronic learning system.

Considering the many benefits of a tablet learning system for students and schools, this project could be a step forward for education in Indonesia. But the government still must consider the purchasing power of the students and not force the issue – as we recently saw from one tablet-loving teacher in China. With any luck, Indonesia might eventually follow the lead of the uber-digital South Korea, which aims to digitize all textbooks and put them in the cloud by 2015.

[Photo: techworldd.com]