Helga Hambrock and Frelét de Villiers
Introduction
The final chapter of this book includes a synthesis of the background, policies, technology, challenges and opportunities relevant for a seamless learning approach, as found in the Netherlands, Malaysia, the USA, South Africa and New Zealand. It further includes a summary of the perspectives of higher education instructors on seamless learning as found in the respective countries. The perspectives of the instructors are based on the following statement: ‘Seamless’ (learning) experiences should become a standard component within the curriculum of your institution’.
The uniqueness of the study lies in the fact that the topic is approached by instructors from different countries and thus an array of perspectives can be expected. Each countries’ contribution is considered of equal value and is included as part of the overall findings.
As an introduction, the status of the countries is presented and contains a summary of the background in terms of ICT in Education in each country. The challenges, the existing policies and technology access as well as a summary of each country’s position in terms of seamless learning is presented.
Thereafter the research methodology and the findings are discussed. To conclude an overall comparison and recommendation of the implementation of seamless learning from an international perspective is presented.
Background: ICT in Education
This section of the chapter includes the background of all the countries in terms of Policies and Technology access and challenges. These topics are discussed per country respectively.
Policies
Malaysia
The Malaysian National Philosophy of Education (Hudawi, et al. 2014) fosters learning in the new millennium and regards students as holistic human beings. The Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia, 2015a; Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia, 2015b; Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia, 2015c; Selamat et al., 2017) firmly pursues the goal of incorporating technology into the education system. This includes a long-term plan to apply digital literacy skills. A substantial budget increase for technical and vocational education has been allocated in the Malaysia Eleventh Plan 2016-2020 (Unit, 2015) to increase the quality of higher education studies in Malaysia.
So far tertiary institutions of Malaysia have not sufficiently been provided with software programs and devices, Wi-Fi coverage and e-learning platforms. Since these services and technologies are necessary for seamless learning, the tertiary education environment still has quite a way to go.
Relevant policies concerning technology integration in Malaysia include the E-Learning Policy, the Malaysia Education Blueprint for Higher Education, and the Seventh Malaysia Plan for Education 2013-2025. Last-mentioned advocates for teachers to benefit from ICT which must be a comprehensive tool in facilitating learning. This is reflected in services like mobile recharge kiosks