Bangkok, Thailand ─ SEAMEO STEM-ED attended and actively participated in the UNESCO-SEAMEO collaboration, “Empowering Minds: A Round Table on Generative AI and Education in Asia-Pacific,” held from November 7 to 9, 2023. The event convened 98 experts, educators, and youth from 20 UNESCO Member States across the Asia-Pacific region ─ and two representatives of the Centre, Dr Burin Asavapibhop and Dr Orawan Sriboonruang, who attended in person, were actively engaged in this pivotal roundtable.

This roundtable aimed to leverage opportunities and mitigate risks in education in Asia-Pacific posed by the emergence of generative AI. Through insightful discussions among experts, the implications of generative AI for teacher training and professional development were extensively explored. In addition, it served as an important platform to exchange ideas, experiences, and practices, optimising the use of generative AI towards enhancing teaching and learning for the present and the future.

At the event, two key publications written by SEAMEO STEM-ED Centre Director Dr Kritsachai Somsaman titled “The Chat GPT: A Toolkit for Students and Educators” and “The AI Guidance for Schools Toolkit: Summary Messages and Principles” (a joint effort with SEAMEO Secretariat, Teach AI, and Code.org), were presented and engrossed by the participants.

Underlining the imperative of incorporating AI literacy into both K-12 and higher education throughout Asia-Pacific, with a specific focus on Southeast Asia, SEAMEO STEM-ED underscored the importance of developing customised regional guidelines and national frameworks for the utilisation of generative AI. These frameworks should be attuned to the unique context of each Southeast Asian country, considering the diverse challenges and nuances in AI pedagogy and assessment. This emphasis was articulated during the Empowering Educators and the Recommendations for Pedagogy and Assessment Sessions, which were presented and led by Dr Sriboonruang.

Source : https://seameo-stemed.org