Reaching Everyone in Education Towards Societal Transformation 1
R. Alpha Amirrachman, M. Phil., Ph.D.2
Abstract
As the globalization of the economy is progressing, international competition is increasing
aggressively, the chalenge of inequality is growing as well, including in education. In this
digital world, the changing demands and skills acquisition continue to challenge formal
education systems and call for alternative modes of learning. Today where technology is
integrated into nearly every part of society, it has become a basic requirement as are subjects
such as mathematics and science. With the development of the internet and multimedia
technologies, distance learning has become a well-accepted and absolut part of educational
systems worldwide to ensure equitable access to quality education and lifelong learning
opportunities for all to promote the enhancement of digital literacy for public towards thesmart future society. Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Open
Learning Centre (SEAMEO SEAMOLEC) as a regional centre for open learning underauspices of Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) who seized its
mission to assist member countries to enhance both equity and quality in education throughthe resolution of distance learning has been fostering its roles since 1997 to equip humanresources in Southeast Asia region with knowledge and skills towards societal transformationin the coming future.
Keywords: open and distance learning, digital literacy, societal transformation
Introduction
Society 5.0 is a future and smart society where technology such as big data, Internet ofThings (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and robots blended into every and across all social
segments. This trend of information revolution is expected to be able to solve current
educational challenges, making everyday life more comfortable and sustainable. However,there are still the existence of persistent challenges yet to face, the faster growth of technology
the bigger of equality gap in society arises (Sukhothai Thammathirat 2019, I-Scoop 2020)
SEAMEO SEAMOLEC as a regional centre for open learning under auspices ofSoutheast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) who seized its mission toassist member countries to enhance both equity and quality in education through the resolutionof distance learning has been fostering its roles since 1997. As elaborated in SEAMOLEC
Annual Report 2019 (2019) Addressing Barrier to Inclusion, as Priority Area Number 2 among
other seven equally key priorities 3, SEAMOLEC originated mission with its expertise andpromise to assist Southeast Asia in enhancing human resources development throughutilization of distance learning. Towards its promises through distance learning, the promotion
use of ICT along with its digital literacy is equitable and become equivalent role of
SEAMOLEC.
1 Paper presented at the University of Tsukuba Symposium VIII, 13-14 February 2020, Tokyo Campus, Universityof Tsukuba, Japan.
2 Director, Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Open Learning Centre (SEAMEOSEAMOLEC).
3 Seven key priorities: 1. Early childhood care and education. 2. Addressing barriers to inclusion. 3. Ensuringresiliency in the face of emergencies. 4. Promoting technical and vocational education and training. 5. Revitalisingteacher education. 7. Promoting harmonization in higher education and research SEAMOLEC (2019).

1

In order to support the enhancement of digital literacy for public and promote theawareness for the use of technologies for education, SEAMOLEC has been performing its
roles and practices in open and distance learning for society (teachers, students and public) tomeet with equity and quality in education to prepare, foster and bring about human strengths
for the rapid technological change and human-centered society in coming era of Society
5.0. Four core pillars that have become main roles of SEAMOLEC in reaching the unreachable
in education are research and development in distance learning, open and distance learningmodel, training, and consultancy services in open and distance learning (ODL) and ICT for
education.
Research and Development in Distance Learning. Aiming to facilitate research anddevelopment by educators related in Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-based
Open and Distance Learning (ODL), SEAMOLEC research grants have been distributed every
year to support, promote and motivate teachers, lecturers, educators from primary to higher
education level to pursue their enthusiasm in areas of distance learning and ICT for education
in Southeast Asia. Several main research themes are drawn to support educators, educational
institutions and Centre’s policies and direction through inputs from research findings. In
conjunction
withresearch
grants,SEAMOLEC
OnlineJournal,“https://journal.seamolec.org/index.php/journal” has been launched to provide open access ofscientific papers and selected research articles both in digital and printed format for public use(SEAMOLEC 2020)

1. Preparation•Goal setting on the
distribution of R&D
Grants•Update guidance of
R&D grants andevaluation
instrumen•Calling for proposals

2. Distributionof R&D Grants•Review of Proposals•Announce receiverof R&D Grants•Sign R&D contracts

3. R&D
Implementati
on•Technical assistanceon:•Product
Development•Evaluation
Instruments•Final reports &articles

4. Evaluation•Article reviews•Webinars•Journal/ proceeding
development•Evaluation on the
R&D programs

Workflow of Research Grant Program
Open and Distance Learning Model. Distance learning is a way of learning remotely toprovide access to education while keeping the quality without being in regular face-to-faceclassroom setting. In the rapid development of new technology, distance learning is one of themost rapidly growing fields of education and its potential impacts on all education delivery
systems. In order to meet the needs of the changing world, distance learning must be time
flexible, reducing geographical barriers, competitive cost/value and learner centred in which it
has been considerably demonstrated its ability to meet a wide range of learning needs anddifferent types of learners. The distance learning system using ICT has become a significant

2education innovation in the 21st century. (Allen 2016, Sukhothai Thammathirat 2019). To
pursue its mission in promoting and supporting the use of ICT in education, one of
SEAMOLEC efforts is to initiate open and distance learning model in Southeast Asia. The
designed model expected to expand the access, quality, and equity for students to pursue theireducation regardless of their economic, geographical, time, social and cultural constraints.
With the unique attributes of open and distance learning (ODL), SEMOLEC has come todevelop this model annually. Every year challenges and needs together with trends of futuretechnology in education are taken into account in model development process to provide
appropriate support for people in need. The main goal is to provide access in education for ones
who are unable to stay in regular learning services to complete and develop themselves
regardless of classroom setting.
As one of outstanding efforts since 2017 SEAMOLEC has assisted West Java Provinceof Indonesia in improving enrollment rate of students of secondary education via open anddistance learning. The distance learning programme has been designed with hybrid or blended
mode with ICT-based ODL which the proportion of ICT component is ranging from 30-79 %while 30 % is face-to-face delivery. In hybrid mode, it allows students to study without leaving
their works or ones with economic, geographical or physical constraints. Pursuing its mission
to enhance number of enrolment rate of secondary school students and quality of workforce inthe province, learning modules, guidelines, learning materials were developed. The tailored
made ODL model in West Java Province has involved 492 schools and established 1257
learning centres to provide learning supports for students. The increasing number in enrollment
rate of secondary school student has given significant proof of effort in unitizing ODL forhuman resource development in the area. Even though the programme is still in early stage ofdevelopment with limitation of learning material and facilities, the Centre is hoping that theinitiative will be continued with synergizing collaboration with involving stakeholders(SEAMOLEC 2019).

SchemeDistance
Implementation in West Java Province(insertpic of ofstatistic
dataLearningof WJ programme)
To further its benefits of ODL in Southeast Asia countries, SEAMOLEC took an
initiative in utilizing distance learning through Common ASEAN Curriculum for Tourism(CATC) to support human resource development in region with vocational education using3

lesson learned from West Java distance learning implementation. Considering ASEAN
countries are in the era of free flow of skilled labor. Under the umbrella of the Mutual
Recognition Arrangement (MRA), the Tourism sector is a most ready sector to face theASEAN-MRA. Based on the result of preliminary study, tourism is also one of industrial
sectors that highly contributed in GDP on most of Southeast Asia countries. This sector has
positive growth and requires numbers of skilled workers. To answer this condition, distancelearning can be conducted in several Southeast Asia countries by utilizing Common ASEAN
Curriculum for Tourism (CATC) in collaboration with vocational schools/colleges andhospitality industries. In 2019 the first pilot of CATC online courses in Southeast Asia wereintroduced to pilot institutions in 6 countries; Cambodia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Philippines,
Thailand and Timor Leste.

FIND OUT THE POSSIBILITY OF
CONDUCTING A DISTANCE LEARNINGPROGRAM IN THE TOURISM SECTOR― BY IMPLEMENTING CATC AND
RQFSRSSEAMOLEC AS A SEAMEO REGIONALCENTER THAT FOCUSES ON OPEN
AND DISTANCE LEARNINGCONDUCTED FEASIBILITY STUDY TO
FIND OUT THE POSSIBILITY OF
IMPLEMENTING ODL PROGRAM IN
TOURISM SECTOR, ONE OF THE
HIGHEST POTENTIAL AREAS TO
Feasibility Study
The Use of Application of Common ASEAN Tourism Curriculum (CATC) Toolboxes
For Distance Learning In Southeast Asia
SEAMOLEC Training. Considering the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) has broughtvarious significant changes in human life. It has fundamentally changed the way people workand live and has a big influence on many aspects of daily living particularly in education sector.
Today’s educator is obliged to make self-adaptation and certain changes to successfully utilize
all the potential benefits brought by the IR 4.0 era. Among the adaptations and changes teachers
must shift their mindset on their roles and the learning process. They also need to conduct
adaptation programs, such as adjusting curriculum content with content that will prepare
students with 21 century abilities, and also choose and apply various current learning models
suitable for millennial generation students.
As the characteristic of IR 4.0 learning that is synonymous with the internet of things,
icloud, big data, connectivity, and digitalization, it is highly important for teachers nowadays
to integrate their learning and teaching activities with the latest information technology
developments. They, for example, need to combine offline learning mode with online (blended4learning/hybrid learning) and make use of several online learning applications and social media
platforms to enhance students’ learning. In this context, teachers also need to maximize the useof sophisticated devices such as smartphones in the classroom for learning. In short, theintegration of learning with the internet and/or network will greatly affect the effectiveness andacceleration of the achievement of learning outcomes in this digital era.
SEAMOLEC with 23 years of experience in developing ODL in Southeast Asia region

Activities

Pre-online
Course• Get

Learning

Graduates• Readingmaterial• Announce
ment
has
been
very

concerned in the effort to prepare professional teachers/lecturers with four competencies:
professional competence, pedagogic competence, social competence, and personal
competence. Various of ICT-based training programs have been carried out by SEAMOLEC
in order to improve teacher/lecturer digital literacy and to address the competences skill of IR
4.0, such as Internet of Things (IoT), 3D Visualization, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality,
Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), etc. Currently, SEAMOLEC has also been developing
Artificial Intelligence (AI) for education, shown in the international conference conducted by
the Centre last year.
Consultancy Services in ODL and ICT for Education. To enhance its impact ofprogramme implementation towards its mission in ODL and ICT literacy for public, the Centre
is very keen on establishing stronger networking eco-system through partnership andsynergizing with other related parties. As contribution to its partners, SEAMOLEC provides
consultancy services related to the ODL system and its technology to regional partners fromthe level of ministries, universities, organizations and other SEAMEO Centres (SEAMOLEC
2019).
In addition, one of the current another partnership programmes in SEAMOLEC isSouth-East Asian Sales Competition (SEASAC). SEASAC is a three-year project funded by5

the European Union (EU) under Erasmus+ Higher Education Capacity Building Programme.
The main aim of the SEASAC programme is providing highly skilled Business-to-Business(B2B) sales professionals by strengthening the South-East Asian Universities’ capability. Sales
competition is one exciting interactive learning method that involves a simulated buyer/seller
role-play which gives students opportunities to learn from business as well as opens therecruitment opportunities. Existing European knowledge and experiences will be shared andmatched with South-East Asian sales cultures. The output of this programme will be a SouthEast Asian Sales Competition concept, consisting of International B2B Sales Course andSouth-East Asian Sales Competition Final event.
The partners involved in this consortium are; (1) Turku University of Applied Sciences,Finland, (2) University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt, Austria, (3) Edinburgh Napier
University, Scotland, (4) Haaga Helia University of Applied Sciences, Finland, (5)Mahasarakham University, Thailand, (6) Rangsit University, Thailand, (7) Binus University,
Indonesia, (8) Universitas Putra Indonesia “YPTK” Padang, Indonesia, (9) Sebelas Maret
University, Indonesia, (10) Parhayangan Catholic University, Indonesia, (11) State Polytechnic
Batam, and (12) SEAMOLEC. In this program, SEAMOLEC is in charge as a regional
dissemination partner. SEAMOLEC is facilitating the dissemination of their best practices
through digital contents, web-based learning, and also webinars activities. Further informationof this program may be accessed at https://seasalescompetition.com/ (SEASAC 2020).
Moving Forward
The rapid changes in the world economy, technology, and digital society havetransformed people's traditional ways of life at local, national and global levels. In this digitalworld, the changing demands of knowledge and skills acquisition continue to challenge formal
education systems and call for alternative modes of learning. With the development of theInternet and multimedia technologies, open and distance learning is becoming a well-accepted
and indispensable part of educational systems worldwide and there is greater awareness that
ICT in education, such as online distance learning and Massive Open Online Courses(MOOCs), is important to ensure equitable access to quality education and lifelong learning
opportunities for all. Nevertheless, there are also concerns about the accessibility, connectivity,
quality, the gaps in ICT use, and recognition of qualifications earned through non-traditionalmodes of learning. In this context, digital distance education is an open educational system that
can address such concerns and accelerate progress towards the achievement of the Education
2030 agenda known as Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) (Sukhothai Thammathirat2019, I-Scoop 2020, Japan Cabinet Office 2020). SEAMOLEC’s roles in the era of Industry
4.0 still continue with its effort and initiative to equip human resources in Southeast Asia region
with knowledge and skills towards societal transformation in the coming future.

6References:

Allen, M. W. (2016). Guide to e-learning: bujilding interactive, fun, and effective
learning programs for any company New Jersey, Wiley
I-Scoop (2020). "From Industry 4.0 to Society 5.0: the big societal transformation planof Japan." Retrieved 20 January, 2020, from https://www.i-scoop.eu/industry-4-0/society-5-0/.
Japan Cabinet Office (2020). "Science and Technology Policy, Council for Science,
Technology
andInnovation."
Retrieved
15
January,
2020,
fromhttps://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/english/society5_0/index.html.
SEAMOLEC (2019). SEAMOLEC ANNUAL REPORT 2019. Jakarta, SEAMEOSEAMOLEC.
SEAMOLEC (2020). "SEAMOLEC ONLINE JOURNAL." Retrieved 12 January,
2020, from https://journal.seamolec.org/index.php/journal.
SEASAC (2020). "SEASALES COMPETITION." Retrieved 16 January, 2020, fromhttps://seasalescompetition.com/.
Sukhothai Thammathirat (2019). International Conference on Distance Learning.
Research and Innovation for Digital Soceity, Thailand Sukhothai Thammathirat Open
University.

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