Asia Pacific Education Review Copyright 2002 by The Institute of Asia Pacific Education Development

2002, Vol. 3, No. 2, 144-148.

Teachers in Digital Knowledge-Based Society:

New Roles and Vision

Chong Yang Kim

Hanyang University
Korea

The advent of a digital knowledge-based society has brought about significant changes in many ways.
Specifically, educational problems are becoming more diverse, and tasks more complex, which necessitate the
ability of teachers to apply feasible solutions to individual situations, as well as the flexibility to adapt to
changing environments. These changes call for a paradigm shift in education to one that is search- and
discovery-centered, emphasizing creativity and initiative, and valuing interaction and collaboration. This digital
era requires the modern teacher to have the ability to play various roles including that of change enablers, digital
networkers, and learning consultants, and to possess a high degree of humanity and morality, practicality and
liberal sensitivity, and logical reasoning and general sensibility, in order to effectively work and cope within this
dynamic educational environment. Asia is in a unique position to witness the materialization of a new
generation of teachers who embody these ideals, due mainly to cultural and traditional factors. This paper
proposes a vision of future education influenced by the uniqueness of Asian culture, the building of an
Asia-Pacific network of teachers, and ways to effectively utilize the potential of digital society, all from the basis
of Asian culture and tradition.

      
           
Two buzz words which have been circulating in recent
years have been digital (against the backdrop of the internet)
and knowledge as a catalyst to the formation of a
knowledge-based socio-economy. The transition from an
information-based to a knowledge-based society has brought
about dramatic changes in business, education, in terms of the
way information is processed and problems resolved.
Especially noteworthy is the trend to refocus on the notion
of knowledge from one involving practicality in economic
Chong Yang Kim, Ed.D., President of Hanyang University, Korea.
Correspondence Concerning this article should be addressed to
Chong Yang Kim, Office of the President, Hanyang University,
17 Haengdang-Dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, 133-791, Korea.
Electronic mail may be sent via Internet to cykim@hanyang.ac.kr.
*This paper is presented as a keynote speech at the 3rd iAPED
International Conference on Education Research, Seoul National
University, Korea, October 24-25, 2002.
terms, to one that relates more to the value of social
experiences.
With the development of the internet and the advancement
of digital technology, the rate of information and knowledge
has accelerated and subsequently, the effective lifetime of
knowledge is shortening (Tapscott, 1997). This limited
lifetime of knowledge necessitates the constant updating,
development, and expansion of personal expertise. This
progress however, should not be expected to be found solely
within the boundaries of formal education and therefore,
individuals should engage in self-motivated learning activities
outside traditional classroom settings.
Furthermore, a change in the location of learning, or the
transition from the analog era to the digital era, is also
important. In the digital era, the learning environment has
greatly broadened to the extent that the utilization of modern
technology, namely the internet and cyberspace, allows for the
learning setting to be placeless. Moreover, the learning pace
can be adopted according to one's needs, with the availability
and accessibility of vast pools of information just a click
away. Needless to say, the potential for such technology as a

144

learning aid is enormous.
Another advantage of utilizing modern technology as an
educational aid is the developmental effects it can have on
individual creativity and imagination, as a result of the
availability of various high tech tools. Users can also improve
their critical and analytical skills, on a basic level, by honing
their ability to quickly search for and identify various topics
and/or materials.
A knowledge-based society calls for innovation and the
willingness to cooperate in order to further advance ideas,
concepts, and/or strategies. Despite the rising levels of
international competition, individuals need not work alone,
but rather, collaborate through mutual exchanges which
entail benefits for all involved. In fact, with the huge influx
of information, it is almost inconceivable that to develop
new concepts or search for effective solutions, one would
attempt to intentionally isolate oneself and singularly face
the potential inundation of data available, when clearly
cooperation with others would be both practical and
effective. The world is becoming a smaller place and
indubitably, technology is the major factor bringing
societies closer together.
         
       
The advent of a digital-knowledge-based society is
transforming the world on a steady basis, and certainly various
effects can be seen daily. With the abundance of information,
the development of the World Wide Web has made it much
easier to make such information publicly available and readily
accessible. At no other time in history has there been this
opportunity to learn so much through free access across the
world. Consequently, the ramifications for educational
development and promotion are obvious and plenty.
In the following, the future paradigm in education that is
currently taking shape will be described, and the implications
of such a paradigm shift for normal instructional activities of
teachers will be explained. Finally, the new paradigm in
education centering on search and discovery, emphasizing
creativity and challenge, and promoting interaction and
collaboration, will be summarized.
Learning Paradigm Centered on Search and Discovery
Traditionally, education has been understood in a unilateral
        
context, which entailed delivery of information by an expert
and acquisition by a learner of a pre-packaged set of
knowledge. In this context, a teacher is regarded as an expert
who has the answers to all questions in the package and
hence, an absolute authority. A student on the other hand, is
typically regarded as a passive learner, a receptacle of that
which is presented by the teacher.
This digital-knowledge-based era calls for a new paradigm
in education however, that emphasizes learners' active
acquisition of knowledge through the search for various
information and sources, useful for everyday or specific
situations. This new paradigm in education thus focuses on
learners' self-motivated and self-regulated learning activities to
obtain knowledge that is practical in the individual contexts
and circumstances that learners face. To acquire such
knowledge is to actively participate in the progress of personal
development both through interactive education and application,
rather than passively absorbing knowledge developed by others.
Learning Paradigm Emphasizing Creativity and Initiative
Traditional education tends to promote manual-type talent
in individuals who can successfully perform given tasks. Those
who follow given customs and rules and use given resources
efficiently to attain the best results within the given boundaries
profited from this methodology. Those who sought new tasks
and new alternatives in uncertain and complex situations found
themselves at a disadvantage. This paradigm can be typically
found in stable, rigidly structured social environments and may
achieve certain ends. However, such an approach will not do
well in a rapidly developing and unpredictable setting
involving multiple tasks and broad boundaries. What is needed
are individuals with the capacity to utilize creativity and
resourcefulness to apply innovative solutions in order to meet
complex challenges. Moreover, it is these individuals are
necessarily those educated with such characteristics in mind.
Learning Paradigm Emphasizing Interaction and Collaboration
A society that has reached a high level of specialization
and division of labor requires extensive interaction and
collaboration for completion of complex tasks. Individual
instruction designed to meet the needs and expectations of
individual learners through planned interaction between the
learner and computer technology has been less then adequate
in the digital learning environment. This model of individual
146 Chong Yang Kim
instruction has failed to exploit the vast learning
possibilities through dynamic interaction and collaboration
between learner and teacher, between learner and learning
resources, and among learners themselves. The opportunity
for interactive and collaborative learning enriches the
learning experience by providing learners with the
opportunity to learn by presenting them with actual aspects
of real problems, diverse viewpoints on various subjects,
and most importantly, experiences of sharing and living
together in a community.
 !    
The paradigm shift in education is from one of a teaching
paradigm to one of learning. This means that education is no
longer about how to deliver information and knowledge to the
learner but about how to help learners to search and discover
information for themselves to create knowledge useful to their
own contexts. Teachers are no longer responsible for which
information and knowledge is stored in the minds of learners
but for how learners acquire information and knowledge.
Teachers are not just passive helpers however. In a rapidly
changing society, they should have clear visions themselves as
to the creation and application of knowledge which is to be
presented to learners.
Moral and Ethic Responsibility of Teachers
The job of teachers is of course to educate. On a social
level however, another major task is to inculcate learners
with a sense of morality and ethics through the presentation
of societal standards and taboos, either directly through
aspects of the education being presented, or indirectly
through example. Rapid technological developments and the
increased convenience of anonymity are posing potential
problems to traditionally defined ways of interaction,
behavior, even attitudes. One cause is the increase in
isolation for those with excessive exposure to the internet
and the subsequent decrease in real face to face social
interaction. Therefore, the possible detrimental consequences
of excessive self-imposed confinement and estrangement due
to cyberspace access, resulting in the breakdown of societal
norms and mores should be discussed and in the very least,
considered, when dealing with computer technology in
education.
Asian "Analog-Digital" Mentality
Transition from an analog society to a digital society has
brought about the notion that analog is essentially bad and
digital is good. Analog is a general world of continuity while
digital is a specific world of zero and one. The former
encompasses diverse alternatives while the former involves two
simple possibilities. Thus, due to the rigidity of the digital
world, it has become increasingly important to seek
complementary analog answers to various digital questions,
which cannot simply be answered in one or two ways. An
analog way of thinking is holistic and nonlinear whereas a
digital way of thinking is procedural and linear. In this regard,
in general terms, the analog approach can be seen as similar
to the Asian mode of thinking, which tends to take a general,
all encompassing view.
Exchange of information can be done easily on a digital
network because information can be easily organized in a
digital way and separated by and from the owner of the
information. But knowledge is closely tied with the owner of
that knowledge and it cannot be easily organized and
exchanged in a digital way. Rather, a better way to exchange
knowledge is by direct and holistic contact with the knowledge
owner. Thus teachers with an Asian orientation and/or an
understanding of the differences between analog and digital
ways can conceivably work well in the transmission of
knowledge in this digital-knowledge-based society.
Practicality and Liberal Sensitivity
In a digital knowledge-based society, the idea of
practicality relates to an emphasis on the pecuniary value and
economic utility of knowledge. For example, in recent times,
there has been a decrease in the demand for humanity related
courses in colleges compared to those focusing on everyday
practicality, such as the hard sciences. But what should not be
forgotten is that to develop originality and imagination, one
must cultivate humanitarian and liberal sensitivity which
presumably flourishes more in non-scientific, non-technological
fields such as the humanities. Such creativity is precisely what
is needed in education in order to account for problems in
learning patterns and behavior, procedures and methodologies,
which cannot necessarily be resolved using scientific nor
economic perspectives.
On the other hand, teachers need to be digitally literate to
understand and be prepared for the high tech environment in
which they are surrounded by and with which they will be

working directly. Digital literacy means not only the ability to
collect, select, edit, and process information but also the ability
to evaluate and determine the credibility of information. The
outcome of editing and processing in particular, can vary much
depending on the liberal sensitivity of the individual. Thus, a
digital society requires teachers who are both digitally literate
and liberally sensitive. The latter refers to the ability to
acquire cultural knowledge and sensitivity to work successful
in the rapidly changing educational field.
Logical Reasoning and Sincerity
Teachers need to have the ability to logically reason in their
specialized areas by building expertise and updating themselves on
new developments on a regular basis. In addition, teachers should
have the ability to use various real world examples to relate the
learning subjects to learners' daily lives. Teachers should take care
not to bore their students by simply delivering a preplanned unilateral
lecture focusing on logic and form. Instead, teachers should promote
the idea of learning how to learn-knowledge creation through
information processing and experiences of students themselves-
rather than taking a training and education perspective-knowledge
acquisition through abstract conceptualization and logical reasoning.
Attention given to EQ relative to IQ (Goleman, 1997, 2000),
experience-oriented economics (Pine II & Gilmore, 1997), and
experiential marketing (Schmitt, 1999) are methods proven to be
useful and are examples of current trends in learning techniques.
 "    
Macroscopic changes that accompany the digital
knowledge-based society and their impacts on the paradigm
shift in education have been overviewed. Next, discussion will
center around a new vision for teachers to conduct the new
education paradigm. In what follows, the new roles for
teachers as change enablers, knowledge incubators, and
learning consultants will be examined.
Change Enabler
Change is a regular part of life. Change management
refers to not only passively responding to changes but also
active and intentional planning of changes. In this context,
teachers' role should be shifting from the role of 'answer
        
provider', i.e. someone who processes and presents knowledge
needed to confront changes, to that of 'change enabler', or a
person who helps learners find knowledge needed to confront
changes and actively deploys self-development strategies. More
specifically, teachers' roles in the new era should include
mitigation of the potential shock from changes, guidance to
help learners establish new visions for the future, and
encouragement of leadership for learners to help them initiate
their own roles and to continue self-development.
Knowledge Incubator
The control of information has been much decentralized
since the era of mainframe computing. With advancements in
digital network technology and the subsequent 'open
information principle' which allows people to network and
share information, is replacing the 'closed information principle'
that controls information within the hands of a few selected
people. Knowledge creation by a few creative people has come
to its limit and must give way to knowledge creation by a
network of people who share ideas based on their own
creativity and imagination. In this changing environment, the
role of a teacher should not be one analogous to a knowledge
tank that contains pre-processed knowledge or a super brain
that serves as the source of all knowledge, but one of a
knowledge incubator that serves as a network navigator or a
director to the useful sources of knowledge. Thus, teachers in
digital society should not teach knowledge per se but rather
teach the methods of finding where and in what manner
information and sources can be determined, as well as ways to
process knowledge and apply them to problems encountered in
everyday experiences.
Learning Consultant
Future teachers are content experts of their subject-matter
and play the role of learning consultants who diagnose various
problems that learners face and prescribe methods to facilitate
learning activities. For this role, teachers need knowledge and
skills to appropriate, discover, develop, and apply various
learning methodology repertoires. In particular, to utilize
various digital learning resources, teachers need to have digital
literacy, the ability to search, evaluate, edit, process, and
utilize digitized information. Digital literacy also includes the
ability to share learning outcomes with others and to build and
maintain various cyber communities. Digital literacy is a basic
148 Chong Yang Kim
prerequisite for construction of a digitopia and a vitalization of
digital life, as well as one of the fundamental abilities to help
future youths in their interactions in cyber space. Teachers
with digital literacy play the role of learning consultants to
help learners acquire the abilities of information decoding,
information navigation, and information sharing.
#  $  %   %
Finally, the following are suggestions drawn from
conclusions on the meaning of spirit building to create a firm
sense of community among Asian societies. The significance
of establishing such solidarity is the recognition of common
traditional values in order to develop horizontal networking for
future society, in the name of shared interests based upon
common Asian values.
Vision from Reflection on the Uniqueness of Asian Culture
Universally, the commonality that countries share is the
desire to maintain their cultural uniqueness, and therefore,
efforts toward building a universal educational value system
would seemingly be difficult. However, where there are
obstacles, there are also opportunities. Teachers' vision of
education, educational content, and educational methods based
on Asian cultural uniqueness can positively contribute to the
construction of new visions in education which can universally
apply to all cultural groups in the future.
Asian holistic logic and reasoning can aid in overcoming
limits and problems experienced in western style approaches,
by complementing existing methods. Together, aspects of both
East and West could combine to form an ideal system needed
in digital knowledge-based society.
Building an Asia-Pacific Network of Teachers
While Asian societies share certain aspects of their
cultures, each of them has a unique historical background and
cultural heritage. This uniqueness and individuality reveals a
rich pedagogical philosophy, educational curriculum and
teaching system. Each Asian country has its own educational
content and methodologies. Sharing these resources and ideas
in a common knowledge management system can lay the
foundation for collective ties among teachers in the
Asia-Pacific area and work towards building a common
cultural community.
The Potential of Digital Society Based on Analog
Methodology
The realization of a complete digital society requires a
foundation of analog methodology. Past experience has
revealed that digital knowledge-based online ventures without
offline infrastructure cannot truly be realized. Knowledge-based
digital ventures with a solid analog basis have unbounded
possibilities. As such, this fact should be applied to the context
of education. Online education should be based on personal
interaction between teachers and learners and interaction
among students. Future teachers and their students need to
maximize the potential involved from combining analog and
digital methodologies. Digital simplicity and clarity should be
combined with analog tenacity and variety in order for future
students to be able to create and utilize practical knowledge.
Asia has the unique opportunity to move forward with this
task, and as such, cooperation to do so begins today.
" 
Goleman, D.P. (1997). Emotional intelligence. Bantam Books.
Goleman, D.P. (2000). Working with emotional intelligence.
Bantam Books.
Pine II, B.J., and Gilmore, J.H. (1999). The experience
economy: Work is theatre & business a stage. MA: Harvard
Business School Press.
Schmitt, B.H. (1999). Experiential marketing: How to get
customers to sense, think, act, and relate to your company
and brands. New York: The Free Press.
Tapscott, D. (1997). The digital economy: Promise and peril in
the age of networked intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Received December 3, 2002
Revision received December 12, 2002
Accepted December 16, 2002