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Edutech also known as Educational technology is when learning occurs over the digital space. As the trends evolved, people have been going looking towards learning over the internet instead of the traditional paper and pen and in a classroom. Most people have welcomed the idea; others already began opening businesses in regards to edutech. Companies such as Khan Academy, Master Class and, Udemy are prime examples of big players in the edutech industry.

But what about the Philippines? Is there any edutech in the Philippines? As of now, people still haven’t recognized the importance or the use  of edutech in the Philippines. One of the main reasons being that parents and many students still support the concept of too much screen time being the reason why children lose some of their socio-cognitive ability. However, there are other studies that had come out that students and most especially teenagers need the internet as part of the learning process (Valkenburg, 2005; Valkenburg, 2008). The internet and the e-space offers a simulation ground for adolescents to switch up and adjust their identity accordingly in order to make more friends. However, there are a few companies that have begun entering the edutech industry such as edukasyon.ph and soon, AHEAD Learning Group of Companies will be releasing AHEAD Online where students will be able to access their tutorials online.

Why the sudden shift? Consider the milieu and the zeitgeist. With the younger generation becoming more and more of a digital native, they become less receptive to the concept of using paper and pencil. At the same time, the awareness of the environment has made mankind turn to more digital means to prevent the waste and the overuse of paper. Another would be the travel cost. The common problem for Filipino children when it came to school was the travel cost. Children would be forced to wake up early to fight the traffic which would use up gas. By the time they reach the school, they are already suffering from fatigue.

Ultimately, these inconveniences would then cause the shift towards edutech. And when this does happen, brick and mortar schools may be rendered obsolete eventually. Hopefully, edutech in the Philippines does flourish and people would be able to understand its use.

Sources:

Valkenburg, P. M., Schouten, A. P., & Peter, J. (2005). Adolescents’ identity experiments on the Internet. New media & society7(3), 383-402.

Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2008). Adolescents’ identity experiments on the Internet: Consequences for social competence and self-concept unity. Communication Research35(2), 208-231.