"Teachers must innovate and improve their digital competence," acting deputy for the coordination of quality improvement of education and religious moderation at the ministry, Aris Darmansyah Edisaputra, said when contacted on Thursday.
He noted that digital competence improvement would be in line with the theme for this year's National Teachers' Day, namely "Innovate Simultaneously, Realize Independent Learning."
"National Teachers' Day, which is commemorated every November 25, is expected to become a momentum to continuously improve digital competence to support the learning system that continues to develop," he said.
By strengthening their digital competence, it is expected that teachers will master various kinds of technological devices, Edisaputra explained.
"Therefore, teachers will be able to develop learning methods according to their needs and be able to find teaching materials from various sources," he added.
He further said that the era of rapidly developing digital technology is a challenge in the field of education that needs to become a major cause for concern.
"The massive development of technology reminds us of the importance of being adaptive, creative, and innovative through increasing digital competence in order to optimize education further," he added.
Amid the current technological development, students can be influenced by social constructs built through mass media and social media, he observed.
"Thus, it needs to be a joint concern that this is a challenge for education in the digital era, how teachers and also families can still have a significant main influence in building and shaping students' characters," he said
He added that teachers have a vital role in education because the quality of education is determined by the quality of teachers.
"Thus, the commemoration of National Teachers' Day is expected to become a momentum to continuously increase the role of teachers in improving the quality of education in the country," he remarked.
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Translator: Wuryanti Puspitasari, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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