KUALA LUMPUR: Education institutions in Malaysia should invest in quality audiovisual (AV) systems to ensure a seamless learning experience while remaining competitive in an evolving landscape.
HELP Education Services chief executive officer and HELP University pro-vice chancellor Dr Gerard J Louis said virtual learning had been around in Malaysia for a while, but it has taken a pandemic to realise that having the right infrastructure earlier would have better prepare us for a more seamless education continuity.
"As schools were forced to close overnight, many had to find a way to manage and cope quickly. However, because of this unprepared rush, we realised that people have varying levels of capabilities to utilise virtual learning.
"This has caused various problems and disruptions in the adaptation to online learning successfully. Moving forward, education institutions must remain vigilant and be prepared for the future," he said at a virtual forum entitled Education Trends and Challenges in the New Normal: Importance of Seamless Learning Through Quality Tech & Audio, spearheaded by Shure, a leading global manufacturer of audio equipment.
Centred on highlighting the latest trends and technology in virtual and hybrid learning, the forum was also attended by Universiti Putra Malaysia associate professor Dr Mas Jaffri Masarudin and Concept Audio Sdn Bhd (CASB) market development manager Lim Ming Wei.
CASB is the authorized distributor of the Shure range of products in Malaysia.
Shure offers the complete audio signal chain, from microphone to DSP (digital signal processing) to loudspeaker, as part of the Shure Microflex Ecosystem for audio conferencing.
According to Dr Mas, it is high time that the Malaysian education system should emphasise investing in good infrastructure.
"It is imperative that we future proof our institution so that if another calamity hit us, we are ready to face it.
"Our experience with this pandemic is like proof of the point that we should start investing in technology, especially in higher education," he said at the forum.
Lim, a market development specialist, highlighted that deploying an effective virtual learning system goes beyond selecting the right hardware.
"In addition to selecting the right audio solution that can isolate the sound of the surrounding and reduce the room echo, we also have to advise our clients on the optimal placement, as well as the equipment configuration, that is often scalable depending on today's fluid room sizes (small, medium, large).
"These flexible options help to create a seamless virtual learning experience for both teachers and students," he said.
Shure director of sales, Southeast Asia Eric Ong, said having the right technology infrastructure in place for virtual and hybrid learning will also help the public and private education institutions in Malaysia to stay ahead and attract top students and academia, both local and foreign.
He said the right audio solution is even more important for communication and learning, especially in international students, whose first language may not always be the same as the current native one.
"At the end of the day, selecting the right AV technology solutions should be factored on simple deployment, flexibility and scalability in today's fluid environment, and seamless compatibility with leading collaboration platforms.
"We at Shure are offering a complete solution in one place. Shure's conferencing audio ecosystem is flexible across audio system architectures in all room types and ensures end users will experience a high-quality, more unifying AV conference experience across an enterprise, regardless of location," he said.
The virtual forum is also in tandem with the launch of Shure Microflex Advance MXA710 Linear Array, Microflex MXN5-C Networked Loudspeaker, and MXA Network Mute Button that were recently launched in late 2020.