Science and Technology Education During a Pandemic

When there was a great plague in London around 1665-1666 that killed nearly 20% of the population, Sir Isaac Newton had to stay at home as we all are experiencing today. He was a student at Trinity College in Cambridge at the time and was forced to spend time at home, terrified of the plague. There wasn't much he could do, except read and occupy himself with solving many problems. One of the things he managed to solve was the theory of gravity, which he is said to have discovered due to the fall of an apple.

The story of the apple and Sir Isaac Newton's theory of gravity is very inspiring. Since the days of WFH, I have spent a lot of time with children and watching how they learn and how their teachers teach. Of course it is not ideal and many shortcomings. The ability of teachers to explain science and technology topics which is very limited has the potential to make students not interested at all. This is not the time to look for scapegoats, but to provide solutions.

There are already some world-quality online learning materials, such as Khan Academy. But because they speak English, not many students are able to follow it because of limited language skills, including my children. Unfortunately, a similar solution in Indonesian is used as a paid commodity, which of course is not the right solution during a crisis like this.

Science education and technology cannot be separated because all human achievements in technology are the result of previous scientific exploration. There has been a lot of data showing that our science and technology education level in Indonesia is among the lowest in the world. This is very sad, especially considering the high cost of education in the best schools.

Not all Indonesian children have the opportunity to enter these best schools. This fact really disturbs my night's sleep and reminds me of my childhood in Poso, a small district in Central Sulawesi. Millions of Indonesian children are still experiencing the same problem today. Not getting access to quality education.

I don't see a solution to provide learning independence, let alone one that can inspire students in science and technology. A very low level of understanding of mathematics, physics and computing will not give birth to future innovators. What exists only produces a class of practical workers and Indonesia is only a market for new technologies, not pioneers.

Interest in science and technology must start from the K12 education period, not only at the University. What is very worrying, at all levels of education, conditions are just as bad. Our understanding of science and technology is among the lowest in the world. There is an illusion that we have succeeded in giving birth to technology companies with unicorn status, but basically they are just running ordinary businesses with digital technology. The number of patents and our technological research contributions is still very, very low.

There is not much we can do to change this condition, perhaps not many even care to think of a solution. This problem has been bothering us for a long time long before the pandemic.

In 2008, together with Prof. Rosari Saleh and her students from the University of Indonesia, we made Physics Cat, a free online learning channel to educate students about experimental physics. Physics Cats has released hundreds of videos for 6 thousands of teachers and students learning online with simple tools you have at home. Of course, this contribution is not enough to prepare science and technology for K12 students and their teachers.

The year 2020 is a turning point to return to the original vision. We want to make a real contribution to the development of science and technology. This time not for experimental physics, but for mathematics, physics and computing. These three disciplines are a unity that needs to be taught well from an early age. With the current state of our education, I believe that what is needed now is a real contribution from people who still care.

We released Ram School, as a channel for learning mathematics, physics and computing based on the Cambridge curriculum. RAM School contains recordings of the learning and teaching processes that I do at home with my children. The materials are designed to provide a good understanding of science and technology for junior and senior high school students. Hopefully with this simple work we can contribute to a better education.

- Disclosure: this guest article was written by Risman Adnan Mattotorang. Risman is the Director of R&D at Samsung R&D Institute Indonesia. He can be contacted via LinkedIn page.