Asia University hosted the “2020 Conference for Research Results on Information Education,” which drew more than two hundred scholars to attend either on line or in person on November 5 and 6. Dr. Jeffrey J. P. Tsai, President of Asia University, stated in his opening remarks that in the time of the pandemic upheaval and disruption, digital learning and education technology have become the most vital issues of education in the post-pandemic era. More than 130 researchers from different universities were invited to share their findings and innovative ideas concerning the application of digital learning in the field of information education. As President Tsai pointed out, there would be inspiring discussions and sharing among all the participants and he wished more novel ideas about research on information education could be generated through this conference.
Dr. Ming-Jen Lin, Director General of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ministry of Science and Technology, also addressed the conference via Gather Town in the opening ceremony, stating that “the government will allocate more budget for the promotion of digital learning in order to cope with teaching and learning challenges after the pandemic.”
Dr. Bor-Chen Kuo, Director General of the Department of Information, Ministry of Education, also mentioned in his opening remarks that “we need more specialists to work on digital learning and we will give our full support to any good projects proposed by any professors.”
In the past two years, the whole world has been severely affected and disrupted by the pandemic, leading to the unprecedented demand for digital technology. . President Tsai observed that digital technology in general and the discipline of information education in particular covers a wide range of studies, including digital learning and other science education-related issues. The outbreak of COVID-19 surprisingly highlights the importance of information education. Therefore, the urgent issue today is how to efficiently apply the information technology to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the time of the New Normal, as change has become the only constant.
President Tsai also emphasized that “information education is a comprehensive discipline which can include experts from psychology, information technology, and other education-related disciplines. ” He added that “the interdisciplinary cooperation among these scholars can create a camaderie in which innovative ideas are more likely to emerge as a result of good team spirit.” “With these joint efforts, the potential of digital learning in Taiwan can be further cultivated,” he concluded.
For this conference, Asia University set up a “Gather Town” virtual space, which is different from Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, to accommodate some 230 participants, who greatlyappreciated its convenience and interactive quality.
