Malaysia still faces constraints with its e-learning environment, a new norm that is hardly accepted by the public school system as opposed to the private sector. Efforts from ministries have been inconclusive, leading to poor planning and implementation, while private institutions are trying their best to roll out digital solutions. On top of that, e-learning still excludes some of the student population in a problem known as the ‘digital divide’ wherein urban and private schools have more benefits and internet access as compared to suburban and rural schools.
According to a study by Khazanah Research Institute (KRI), the level of e-learning adoption is closely linked to the country’s level of development, as 90% of high-income countries have introduced some form of e-learning before the pandemic. Malaysia’s e-learning capabilities at a school level are still in its infancy. The recent spike in COVID-19 cases caused schools to close once again, showing that the current methods of e-learning should be improved to be systematic, effective and accessible to all students.
Since March 2020, public and private universities have halted their new student intake as they try to provide a stable and conducive e-learning platform. Many of these universities have realised that in order to provide a seamless and uninterrupted learning experience, they must invest in digital platforms that can be utilised by the student body and the teaching staff. For example, they need to choose the right video conferencing app that would allow classes to be taken online at ease.
In choosing the right app, there is a long list of things that students and teachers do not want to experience. Are they encountering lags? Is the video quality faulty? Is your app taking a long time to load? These KPIs are all measurable. There are a series of tests conducted by MOZARK on video conferencing platforms, which can help institutions pick the right apps that can work smoothly for all the students and teachers, no matter where they are.
A user’s online experience is not the sole responsibility of network providers and this has been a common misconception that MOZARK needs to explicate. As an expert in analytics, we configure the applications to work together with the network operators or regulators to guarantee an excellent user experience. Understanding the users’ feedback on lags and latencies will eventually help the tools to improve and be the most competitive platform in the market.
With so many platforms and tools accessible for e-learning, universities must consider all possible options and evaluate their capacity to deliver a seamless experience for the students. These platforms have to be tested with the help of measurement tools to ensure maximum QoE and be able to benchmark User Experience (UX). A stable and uninterrupted UX can be attained with the help of testing platforms like MOZARK, which can measure network quality and monitor the actual user experience of any mobile application on a real time basis. By doing so, universities will gain key insights into an application’s performance from the user, in this case from the students perspective. It is the industry’s first platform to measure, benchmark, and improve UX performance, helping deliver better Application experience.
The closure of schools and gaps in learning activities would affect students unevenly. By improving internet QoE, having more accessible devices, and smooth operating apps can make Malaysia ready for e-learning and its technologies. Telecom operators could collaborate with institutions as well as local authorities to offer assistance in providing internet access to provide an equal opportunity to university students living in low signal areas. Excellent QoE should be prioritized to ensure everyone would find online learning effective and acceptable. MOZARK’s network monitoring solutions can help measure network experience and help Internet Service Providers (ISP) by testing real end-to-end experience as well as continuously monitor the application and device experience to identify any bottlenecks in their networks to improve overall connectivity.
As Malaysia embraces and moves towards the industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0), the advantages of technology are exploding. With this, the Ministry of Education (MOE) should collaborate with application/software developers, internet service providers and QoE testers to bring them to Digital Experiences platform like MOZARK and ‘Digitally Transform’ the education sector. By providing connectivity and high caliber tools for students nationwide, makes remote learning accessible and seamless via any device and network available to them. But the most critical piece in the whole digital ecosystem is a robust infrastructure with high capacity and availability, simply put, with new technology comes new challenges and UX experts such as MOZARK can help by delivering experience assurance to bring forward a seamless solution that will make the e-learning industry thrive.
*Mozark Sdn. Bhd. is an independent Digital Experience Platform that utilises cutting edge technologies such as video and audio analysis without reference files, robotic process automation, ML-driven radio frequency simulations and deep packet inspections to measure performance. By identifying the bottlenecks in the digital workflows, companies can ensure a smoother working environment.
**The facts and views expressed are solely that of the author/authors and do not necessarily reflect that of the editorial board.
