File:DigitalLearning hk.pdf

Summary

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government recognizes the importance of Digital Learning (DL) in nurturing future-ready citizens, and has taken steps to promote its adoption in the K-12 education system. The first official strategy document for promoting DL was published in 1998, with a focus on establishing physical infrastructure such as desktop computers. However, the third strategy document in 2008 shifted towards a more techno-centric and human-centric approach to integrating information technology into learning and teaching. A more recent strategy document aimed to equip students with the skills to become self-directed learners and to develop and integrate new pedagogies with existing ones. DL in Hong Kong K-12 education reached the stage of “Digital Transformation” as stated by Luo and Wee (2021) over a decade ago. The features of DL among K-12 students in Hong Kong include a high degree of digital competence and engagement in online activities for schoolwork, leisure, and social networking purposes, the nurturing of higher-order thinking skills, as well as the encouragement of parental and family involvement in DL by the government. Trends in DL in Hong Kong include the encouragement of more sophisticated applications of DL, increasing autonomy in DL, the ongoing emergence of new DL initiatives by schools, more intensive teacher training and competence, and ongoing curriculum transformation. However, this chapter also identifies several issues in K-12 education related to DL, including ethical considerations and consequences of unethical use of digital technology, adverse effects of digitalization, challenges in assessments for DL, the widening digital divide, and a lack of long-term commitment by the government. It concludes by suggesting that a balanced and sustainable approach to DL is necessary to address the challenges and leverage the opportunities presented by the digital world to provide high-quality education for all.

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