MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, MALAYSIA

Transcription

1 CASE STUDY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, MALAYSIA 1BestariNet. The unique high-speed internet-enabled virtual learning platform that has united Malaysian learning communities to become the envy of the world.

2 1BESTARINET THE WORLD S FIRST NATION-WIDE DEPLOYMENT OF SCHOOL IN THE CLOUD BACKGROUND Having enjoyed decades of political stability and industrial growth, Malaysia is one of the world s most peaceful countries and vibrant economies. Its society comprises a multi-cultural community of faith and race spread across two regions Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia separated by over 1,000 kilometres of the South China Sea. CHALLENGE DELIVER A WORLD CLASS EDUCATION TO 5.5 MILLION CHILDREN SPREAD ACROSS 10,000 SCHOOLS, OVER 329,847 SQUARE KILOMETRES. The Ministry of Education, Malaysia (MoE) is the government-led body responsible for giving every child in Malaysia the opportunity to attain a worldclass education. Driven by the desire to better equip Malaysia s 5.5 million children with the knowledge to thrive in the 21st century, the MoE undertook a comprehensive review of its education system in 2011, resulting in a new vision for 2020 that would transform Malaysia s learning environment. THE CHALLENGE In the years leading up to its education review, the Malaysian eco-system for learning had come under increased public scrutiny and debate: Fuelled by increased socialisation through the internet and the rising international education standards around the world, parents expectations of their children s learning environment has increased The classroom of today provides the workforce of tomorrow, and employers were voicing concerns regarding the system s ability to adequately prepare young Malaysians for the challenges of a technologydriven world Over the past decade, the MoE spent the equivalent of 1bn (USD1.6bn) on information and communication technology (ICT) in education initiatives. However, ICT usage in schools continued to fall short of expectations, with one study finding that approximately 80% of teachers spent less than one hour a week using ICT. After extensive consultation with education experts, principals, teachers, parents, and students, the MoE developed a vision for the country s education system and identified eleven pillars of shift to facilitate a positive transformation. A CHALLENGE THAT RESULTED IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, MALAYSIA LEADING AN INITIATIVE THAT BRINGS THE COUNTRY S TEACHERS, PARENTS AND PUPILS TOGETHER, WITH THE WORLD S FIRST NATION-WIDE DEPLOYMENT OF SCHOOL IN THE CLOUD. BESTARI CASE STUDY 1

3 One significant area of recommendation was that ICT should be leveraged to scale up the quality of learning across Malaysia, with the specific suggestion that all 10,000 schools be connected to a virtual learning environment using high-speed internet. The solution needed to reduce the urban and rural education divide by giving all students and teachers access to the same systems and content, regardless of location. Yet this vision was not going to be realised without overcoming significant challenges: The MoE required a system which maximised student outcomes within its current budget The scale of the required solution was immense, with 10,000 schools and almost 6 million students needing to be connected Physical proximity was an issue as approximately 2,000 of Malaysia s schools are remotely served by a variable road infrastructure and 200 schools only accessible by boat A single integrated ICT solution was a necessity to enable management and control of such a vast network of schools, yet there was nothing on the market that met the MoE s needs Given the nature of the country s existing education system and infrastructure, the positive impact of its recommended shifts would take some time to be realised, making the ICT initiative fundamental and urgent. THE APPROACH Following an open tender process in 2001, which involved the evaluation of several ICT service providers, the MoE selected YTL Communications as its preferred partner and Xchanging as YTLC s fulfilment partner after seeing firm evidence of Xchanging s significant experience of delivering large infrastructure projects. Xchanging was able to prove its ability to deliver large-scale transformation strategies of national importance through existing customer and partner relations. We needed a partner that would bring together five key elements to make this work connectivity, the virtual learning environment, the platform, the devices and the content. This is normally a challenge for service providers, but Xchanging offered us end-to-end integration, commented Yang Berhormat Tuan P Kamalanathan s/o P. Panchanathan, Deputy Minister of Education Malaysia. As a 560m turnover business, Xchanging often finds itself up against larger multi-national consultancy firms when it tenders for critical national infrastructure projects. Where Xchanging has particular competitive advantage compared to these bigger players is the ability to be flexible, agile and tailor solutions to meet specific customer needs. The company also has particular expertise in delivering end-to-end integrated solutions, and satisfying mission-critical demands for customers where ICT failure is simply not an option such as Gatwick Airport and the London insurance market. Xchanging simplifies the delivery of virtual learning environments (VLEs) by providing a single point of engagement, and by offering the option to select an individual service module specific to customers particular educational environment or needs, or to build a complimentary end-to-end services solution. We are committed to enhancing education initiatives across the globe, and as the Ministry of Education s fulfilment partner for 1BestariNet, it has been an exciting journey to be a part of a compelling idea that has transformed the education system in Malaysia, commented Muralidhran Nadarajah, CEO, Xchanging Malaysia. We chose Xchanging for its robust global managed network services capabilities and ability to deliver the connectivity, the security, the reliability, and the functions that were essential for learning environments. Yang Berhormat Tuan P Kamalanathan s/o P. Panchanathan, Deputy Minister of Education Malaysia. THE SOLUTION To unite teachers, parents and students within a community of online learners and real-time content exchange, Xchanging was tasked with drawing together key integration skills and strategic partnerships. Under the aptly named project 1BestariNet (in Malay, bestari means smart) Xchanging brought together and managed selected strategic partners to create the world s first nationwide cloud based learning platform over 4G, connecting 5.5 million students, 10,000 schools, 500,000 teachers and 4.5 million parents. To create the seamlessly integrated next generation learning solution for the MoE, Xchanging worked collaboratively with partners including YTLC Yes Network for high-speed 4G internet connectivity, Frog for its learning virtual environment and Google for authentication. Connectivity YTL Xchanging originally partnered with YTL in 2010 to jointly develop and deliver enhanced mobile internet and cloud-based hosting offerings in Malaysia. Providing 150 on-site support staff for YTL s datacentre in Malaysia, Xchanging forms a critical part of its operations leveraging a strong and proven relationship to deliver 1BestariNet. VLE Frog As a YTL company, Frog created Frogasia Malaysia s VLE platform that provides virtual access to classes, class content, tests, homework, grades, assessments, and other external resources. There s also a social component which enables pupils and teachers to interact in threaded discussions or chat. Integration, Platform, Content & Devices Xchanging In addition to managing the end-to-end project, Xchanging also collates free content from providers such as YouTube and Discovery Channel for use in lessons and homework at any location within Malaysia. As Muralidhran Nadarajah, CEO of Xchanging Malaysia, explained, the adoption process by schools of Malaysia s new virtual learning environment was a key consideration in the success of the project: Our goal was to achieve country-wide uptake in a short timeframe, but given the dearth of ICT usage in Malaysia s education system before the project began, it made sense to find early adopter schools that were willing to implement the next generation solution to pave the way for others. This strategy paid dividends for the MoE, with around 20% of schools adopting the next-generation learning solution ahead of planned timelines, followed by 60% more risk-adverse schools. 20% of traditionally nonadopters followed suit, bringing the power of the platform to all schools in the country. 2 MINISTRY OF MALAYSIA CASE STUDY 3

4 THE BENEFITS The successful implementation of 1BestariNet has catapulted Malaysia to the forefront of next generation learning, enabling it to become the first country in the world to connect all of its schools through a single, cloud-based learning platform using high-speed 4G internet connectivity and VLE capabilities. As the benefits of 1BestariNet are being realised for the MoE, it is clear that there is more than one group of customers benefitting from the project: Students are able to: access a wider range of content that is more relevant, engaging and interactive learn at their own pace, from any location at any time take advantage of learning without boundaries, and leave school with a wider breadth of knowledge, world-class skills and strong moral values, regardless of location, socio-economic group or culture. Teachers and principals are able to: access both national and international learning resources and communities to help them improve their practice realise cost and time savings through the cloud-based delivery of content, replacing the original need to service and update servers in all 10,000 schools deliver virtual webinars and events to showcase new content and system capabilities develop stimulating lesson plans which encourage students to expand and challenge their knowledge share best practices amongst other teachers in the country, improving the way learning feedback is pro vided and issues are addressed keep track of student progress more closely and take remedial action more effectively fully embed the new learning platform into the school s working practices and tailor it to the needs of their school. 4 Parents are able to: become more closely involved with their children s education, via hands-on interaction with course content and pupil progress monitoring interact with teachers in a more timely and effective way, using the Frogasia platform to communicate and share feedback a vital facility for parents in such a geographically dispersed community be proud that their children and schools are now part of a ground-breaking learning community that is no longer behind the ICT curve, and leading education trends worldwide have confidence that their children s data is protected through a highly secured 4G network. THE FUTURE As the MoE continues to implement initiatives that will further drive its 2020 vision for education, Xchanging has been contracted to undertake a new project for the MoE encompassing the delivery of a SaaS / BPaaS based school management system. Yang Berhormat Tuan P Kamalanathan s/o P. Panchanathan, Deputy Minister of Education Malaysia said: When we were developing 1BestariNet, we needed to engage partners that could ensure our plans and visions for education were fulfilled. We chose Xchanging for its robust global managed network services capabilities and ability to deliver the connectivity, the security, the reliability, and the functions that were essential for learning environments. The team was entrusted to ensure the initiative got off the ground, and they did a remarkable job. We look forward to more partnerships with Xchanging as we continue to enhance the education system in the country. MINISTRY OF MALAYSIA CASE STUDY 5

5 MALAYSIA Level 9 Tower 3 Avenue 7 No. 8 Jalan Kerinchi Kuala Lumpur +60 (0) info@xchanging.com linkedin.com/company/xchanging facebook.com/xchangingplc 3124/1/5/14