The MOES webinar series in Laos has seen massive growth, with over 150 participants regularly attending each webinar from all over Laos. The webinars aim to build teacher capacities amidst the COVID quarantine by providing training on content and educational technologies. Participation has exceeded expectations, with many first-time users of Zoom and webinars. The webinars are attracting stakeholders from across the education sector in Laos and are helping to advance Education 4.0 in the country through innovative use of technology for training.

1. 1
MOES WEBINAR SERIES HITS
MASSIVE GROWTH
BUILDING TEACHER CAPACITIES AMIDST GENERAL
QUARANTINE SITUATION IN LAOS
(June 9,2021 Vientiane) It’s 2:00 PM and the “waiting room” of the webinar has already swelled with
152 participants from all over Laos, waiting for the program to start LIVE on ZOOM. In the main
ZOOM room, the resource speaker is reviewing the freshly edited presentation materials prepared in
collaboration with curriculum development, subject matter, ICT4E, instructional design and teacher
training experts. In off-site locations, the chat support team has already logged into the system, ready
to assist instant queries. The materials have been uploaded online on Slideshare.net for public sharing
with both English and Lao versions. These are also now posted as file-share within ZOOM in the chat
box.
Flash report! Flash Report Flash report!

2. 2
At 2:07, the webinar starts. The specialist team
discover that some of the accounts are actually
being viewed by 4-6 more individual users. These
are from the Teacher Training Colleges. Just like
the first 2 modules, actual viewers exceeded the
logged in email accounts. The presentation starts
and immediately the questions and comments pour
in over the chat box.
For the current 250 registered accounts, 48.9%
claim to have experienced using ZOOM more than
4 times already. Majority of participants, or 78%
admit this is their first ever webinar and 30.7%
say this is also their first ZOOM experience.
The host and moderators had to give constant
reminders for participants to mute mics and turn on
cameras…with smiles. They are just too happy that
participants have overcome their hesitation to try
these new technologies and are quickly learning
both content while at the same time increasing their
own digital literacy levels.
Only the 3rd
in a series of 15 webinars (web-based
seminar) meant for pre-trainer’s training for core
members of the Department of Teacher Education
(DTE), the Research Institute for Educational
Sciences (RIES), and the Department of General
Education and the Institute for Education
Administrators, what began as an internal event
has scaled rapidly into an in-demand capacity
building innovation for many sub-sectors. It is
being calibrated continuously as each module
completed nets new learnings about the Lao digital
learning context.
Starting on June 2, 2021 (Wednesday) with
invitations through the DGE, DTE, RIES and
IFEAD, the first webinar sustained 2 hours with
125 participants inside ZOOM staying until the
end. It was simulcast LIVE outside ZOOM on
facebook.com/eesdp with another 95 viewers
despite having the sound disabled.
The next session was on Friday, June 4. 2021 on
the same time slot: 2:00-4:00 pm. This time an
average 144 (147-150 at peak) was able to stay
connected until the end. The live feed on Facebook
had to be interrupted to focus bandwidth on the
increased ZOOM attendees.
This 3rd
module, 157 unique accounts have been
able to log in with at least 4 accounts showing 4-7
actual individuals watching through one device.

3. 3
2nd module screen capture at the end pf the module: June 4, 2021 2:00-4:00 pm. Due to internet connections ranged from 144 to 150 but 144 stayed on until conclusion.
Screen cap after the session has already formally ended, it lingered for more than 10 minutes before admin closed the zoom access.
The EESDP Project Director is happy as she and the
expert team on board as project implementation
consultants monitored the live conversations and
witnessed how the various communications
channels were gathering feedback.
The international experts followed the Lao
exchanges, even using google translate to better
grasp the emerging flow of knowledge transfers.

4. 4
Initiated by the Education for
Employment Sector
Development Project
(EESDP)’s team in response to
disruptions to face to face
activities due to pandemic
security measures, the free
learning events made use of
available technologies to
jumpstart the transformations to
Education 4.0 and is attracting
support and participation from the
stakeholders.
According to EESDP Team
Leader Dr. Bernadette V.
Gonzales, “Meetings on ZOOM
or MS TEAMS have been quite
common but usually limited to
small numbers of participants and
not really for intensive training.
We are combining ZOOM, Streamyard, SlideShare, Facebook
Groups/Pages and Messenger to have seamless synchronous and
asynchronous learning and to reach as many teachers as possible
and tool them for more learner-centered approaches.”
Dr. Gonzales further shared that the Project intends to train 12,000
teachers of priority subjects (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math,
Lao Language, English) in order to better deliver the improved
secondary education curriculum. “The RIES is preparing improved
Teacher Guides for these priority subjects while the DTE is
preparing the Teacher Training Manual for in-service training.
Joining the force is the IFEAD which will be training the Principals
of secondary schools especially on school instructional leadership.
Of course, the DGE will be working closely with the PESS and DESB
to improve learning outcomes so we have all these units, now
converging to push for quality education in Laos. As these are not
normal times due to the pandemic, we need to move forward with
innovative thinking because everyone wants to deliver better
opportunities for Lao Learners so they have a better chance to
compete nationally and regionally.”
Capacity building targets under the EESDP Convergence Strategy

5. 5
Joel Wayne Ganibe, EESDP expert for ICT4E/Teacher
Development Strategy/Classroom based Assessment and his
team of national experts are working closely with the
implementing units and has begun to pilot micro-
certifications where a typical full course is broken down into
smaller, bite-size modules that can be delivered
asynchronously and synchronously. The 15 modules in this
pilot series are all geared towards increasing Lao Teacher
PCK (pedagogical-content/context-knowledge) while also
increasing confidence and experience on education
technology. “We make it easier for the learner to absorb
knowledge faster and to build skills through continuous
engagement and formative assessments.”
Ganibe explains that the webinar is just level 1 or the first
barrier to overcome by the target beneficiaries. “It is meant
to be the first of many layers and communication channels
that will be used for knowledge transfer and generation. It
aims to provide experiential learning through digital
channels to give them more comfort in using these channels,
so that we can mentor them further through a community of
practice. Yes, it is social media and we are demonstrating
how it can be used for education and not just entertainment,
now that face-to-face events and travel are limited,” he
further elaborated.
“In SESDP, we created a Teacher’s Group on Facebook1
.
We started it by “friending” and then “adding” Lao
teachers one by one, at a time when even checking emails
was not a habit and social media was just catching on as a
professional tool. It now has more than 8,000 members and
growing. We share files, use use polls, and share content and
1
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TE.LAO
build consensus within
this online community.
From here, the Lao
stakeholders began
building their own groups
and using other platforms
like WhatsApp. In EESDP,
we aim to deploy more
digital tools for learning.
Let’s face it. The 4th
Industrial Revolution has
already happened and
technology is now the
driver for economic
change. So more and more
we need to demonstrate
how to use these for
education.”
Based on registration data,
39% [18.8% (1-5 years) +
20.4% (6-10 yrs)] of the
participants have been
working with the Ministry
of Education and Sports
between 1 to 10 years.
These are the relatively
young
educators/administrators
and the main target
frontliners.

6. 6
19.6% have been with MOES for 11-15 years (middle managers) but a surprising 34.4% combines those who
have worked with the ministry from 16-20 years + more than 20 years. This means we are attracting the senior
education managers as well as those who have become national experts like professors from the National
University of Laos. This indicates a very positive response from various levels within the Ministry doing
lifelong learning.

7. 7
True to the meaning of “convergence”, participants come
from various departments or sub-sectors concerned with
quality of education.
29.8% come from the Teacher Training Colleges
(instructors) together with DTE’s 5.2%. TVET colleges
provide 3.2% while 16.8% come from Secondary
Schools (teachers).
20.8% come from “others” which may include some
PESS and DESB as well as private helping organizations
involved in education.
Meanwhile, as of writing, the EESDP Team has updated
with the latest (4th
in a series of 15) module: Simulation
Teaching, where due to rain, internet connections have
reduced the number of active accounts able to link to 146.
But again at least 5 of these accounts were Teacher
Training Colleges streaming the zoom webinar in a
classroom of several individual teacher participants.

8. 8
This screen captures were taken at 4pm at the end of the webinar where at least 124 still lingered for an extended 10 minutes asking more
questions and thanking the resource speaker for the sharing.

9. 9
Participant from Bankeun TTC at 4:08 expressing his appreciation to the organizers.
The registration data also reveals the most common technology platforms being used by the participants to
show the extent of adaption and to point out where to introduce more tools.

10. 10
CRITICAL NEXT STEPS:
The EESDP Team are now considering asking for a specific policy support from the Ministry such as guidance
on the innovation for digital certificates. Considering that the modules correspond to both pre-service and in-
service courses and delivered no less by experts straight to individuals and a mechanism for online
assessments, MOES may need to consider these with academic credits equivalence as is now the practice on
Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programs in more advanced systems in ASEAN.
“These are no longer the traditional experts train-master trainers-who train local trainers-then train lucky
teachers kind where we expect natural generational loss of ‘trickle down effect’ [essential concepts may be
lost by incompletely trained and equipped trainers].” Explains Ms. Keomannivanh Phimmahasay, EESDP
Project Director.
“These webinars are straight from the experts to
the individual learners already and more than the
usual workshops, the online assessment adapts a
formative approach by ensuring each participant
had access to the references online, was able to
directly ask questions to resource speakers during
the webinar, plus has been able to interact directly
with expert team via the Facebook Page and with
fellow participants in various communities of
practice. It then rewards this reflective learning
and initiative with valid, digital certificates.
“Even financial institutions like banks are doing
online transactions via mobile phones only and
that involves money, this one involves test-results
that can be sent back immediately upon
completion. We would like to take advantage of
these advances and popular response—it is
showing that our Ministry of Education and Sports
is also leading these innovations.” She shared
Dr. Bernadette Gonzales also observed: “This is the
right time for real convergence. This is why we
opened the webinar beyond the EESDP Project
only. We need as many participants/collaborators
as possible to effect system-wide improvements.
We all to the Lao Learner, equipping them with a
supportive environment for them to successfully
become lifelong learners themselves.”
The Webinar registration remains open:
https://forms.gle/46PvqLZXMEVaq7qN6
---------------------------------

11. 11
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS:
THE SCHEDULE:

12. 12

13. 13
WHY EDUCATION 4.0?