By: Azman Zakaria
SERDANG, 6 Mac - The Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) launched the Putra Future Classroom (PFC) as an initiative of ‘Smart Campus’ aimed to promote the learning ecosystem and technology assisted teaching to make it more conducive and fun for students and other campus citizens.
The PFC launch was inaugurated by Minister of Education, Dr Maszlee Malik at the UPM Faculty of Educational Studies Auditorium here yesterday.
In line with the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0 and Education Plan 4.0, PFC functions as a reference centre for prototype of future classroom or lecture room that utilises best practices of technology integration in learning and teaching.
It also serves as a ‘launching pad’ for technology and a ‘test bed’ sample of the 21st century classroom or lecture room that is constantly changing in line with the goal of producing the ‘ulul albab’ student generation, ‘future proof’, firm, and personable.
PFC uses current interactive and blended learning and teaching approaches and takes advantage of modern technology application opportunities such as cloud, augmented and virtual realities, internet of things, data analytics and artificial intelligence built around the core of education that would become the root and foundation for its every plan.
The PFC curriculum is designed to be more customised and personalised based on the education framework that takes into account aspects of conducive ecosystem, learning psychology, interaction of space and time, technological application and the application of innate values.
In his launching speech, Dr Maszlee said that PFC is a learning and teaching laboratory that could bring about changes to the philosophy, landscape and ecosystem as well as best practices in the education system.
He said that the democratisation of education through programmes, applications and devices developed is towards producing educated and viable society.
He also said higher learning institutions and private companies should work together to create applications or devices that would facilitate teaching and learning, including teaching of English and Mathematics and for children at pre-school level.
He mentioned that friendly applications for senior citizen and retiree should also be developed on the basis of lifelong learning as age is no longer a barrier to education.
UPM Vice Chancellor, Prof. Datin Paduka Dato’ Dr.Aini Ideris said that PFC becomes a centre for training, the incubator of online learning materials and the initiator of technology innovations integration in teaching and learning.
She mentioned that PFC uses a unique approach with the motto, ‘technology-enhanced talaqqi’ to guide learning through the presence of a teacher, coach or a religious educator and without simply taking all that is presented out there as a reference of knowledge.
Meanwhile, the meaning of ‘future’ that defines PFC has a broader context that encompasses life in the world now and the hereafter. – UPM
