Labtech President Steve McKee and Don Knezek, CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), met recently with representatives of the Ministry of Education and MDeC (Multimedia Development Corporation) in Malaysia to discuss progressive initiatives in that Southeast Asia nation to accelerate the movement of their education systems into the digital age. Of particular interest is the use of ISTE’s NETS in developing specifications of national ICT skill sets in Malaysia for students and teachers, and ISTE’s role in implementing effective sustained teacher development strategies there. The meeting arose as a result of both earlier ISTE work with the Ministry (2007), and current engagement of the Ministry with Generation Yes (long-time ISTE collaborator) and their partner in the region, LABTECH International, LTD in Indonesia and with MDeC. MDeC is a unique government owned corporation that is a leading catalyst for integration of ICT into Malaysia’s national economic development policies and programs including education.
Pictured above from left to right are Dr. Norrizan Razali, Senior Manager for Digital Age Learning, MDeC; Steven McKee, President, Labtech International; Steven Jay Hicks, Manager of the Student Technology Leaders project for Labtech International and GenYes; Dr. Khair Bin Mohammad Yusof, Deputy Director-General of Education for Teacher Professional Development, Ministry of Education Malaysia; Don Knezek, CEO of ISTE; and Shafiek Sultan, Regional Marketing Manager (Asia), Labtech International.
