ITB DMF 2011 – Digital Learning for Improving the Quality of Education
The Bandung Institute of Technology held the 2011 Digital Media Festival (ITB-DMF) to bring together various stakeholders from the general public, government, industry, academics, and digital technology activists to encourage the growth of the digital industry in Indonesia. The festival, with the theme "Education for All, Now, Towards an Advanced and Prosperous Knowledgeable Indonesian Society," is expected to awaken a shared dream of Indonesia in the digital era so that it can play a more significant role in the development of the digital era.
The three-day festival on November 22-24, 2011, at the ITB campus was enlivened by various activities that captured the growth of digital technology over time that transformed human life, including seminars with keynote speakers from Canada, Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia. In addition, the International Conference on Information and Communication Technology for Rural Areas (rICT 2011), the International Conference on e-Learning (ICeL 2011), the Indonesian Digital Learning Forum, an Exhibition and Open House, as well as several technical meetings and workshops were also held.
Among the workshops held was the MIC-ITB Code Camp 2011 which was attended by 230 participants and became the largest technical application development workshop in the world in terms of number. "This three-day technical workshop is targeted to produce approximately 200 applications and games that are ready to be sold in mobile application stores," said Dr. Tech. Ary Setijadi P. as the committee of DMF-ITB 2011. The festival was also enlivened by a professional community meeting, namely the IEEE Computer Society Chapter Indonesia and the Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC Summit) meeting throughout Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Digital Learning Forum will discuss digital learning in education in Indonesia and how to utilize digital learning to increase the Gross Enrollment Rate (GAR) of higher education participants from 500 thousand to 1.5 million people by the end of 2014. The discussion on digital learning will be conducted in the form of a talk show involving the government, higher education institutes, and regional education authorities. This forum is expected to be a socialization of the steps taken by the Directorate General of Higher Education to increase GAR as well as a means to see the readiness of higher education institutions in Indonesia.
It is hoped that ITB-DMF 2011 will be one of the drivers of the optimal use and utilization of digital technology in an effort to transform Indonesian society into a knowledgeable, advanced and prosperous society, especially in the field of education.