Green digital education

Green, Virtual, Social: The future of Asian education? A survey of public sector executives across Asia Pacific

Publisher: Future Gov, October 2009

Attracting over 160 responses from education institutes across Asia Pacific, this report argues that education organisations in Asia have reached a historical crossroads where they have to decide how best to leverage electronic resources for the production and delivery of education content.

Future Gov/ Cover page of the report

The survey indicates an appetite for experimentation – as well as a requirement for evidence that new tools will deliver measurable value. The research also records the enduring power of paper based materials in the learning environment, suggesting that the creative use of personalisation, and on-demand services will complement the shift towards digital education content creation and online delivery.

The study found that the adoption of digital content is a clear trend in Asia Pacific.  One of the most interesting set of answers in the survey comes in the section on producing education material, where a predominant number of institutes are leaning towards a mix of in-house production and outsourcing.

The study also reveals that the willingness to outsource grows as does the size of the education institute.

Furthermore, the study outlines the potential role of multifunction devices in providing digital document solutions in Asia-Pacific campuses.

Respondents revealed where they stand on issues like green initiatives, use of document-handling devices, and providing education material access to students.

When looking at the key challenges in the device and document management environment, the data brings some useful indicators regarding hardware, pre-print material and manual document handling. The evidence also appears to show that effective document solutions become imperative for institutes that are growing in size.