The second World Conference on Transformative Education has opened at the University of Cape Coast (UCC).
The three-day conference which has converged academicians across the globe, is on the theme: "The Future of Africa and the Role of Transformative Education." The conference is aimed at seeking solutions to improve the quality of education from kindergarten to higher education.
Opening the programme, the Pro Vice-Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Rosemond Boohene, who represented the Vice-Chancellor, noted that education had transitioned from the traditional focus of literacy and numeracy to modern trends of skills in critical thinking, information literacy, global awareness, technology literacy, among others. She said Ghana had become aware of the need to adopt these modern trends to produce a generation of educators equipped with 21st century skills to push its national and developmental agenda.
Pro Vice-Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Rosemond Boohene
In light of this, the Pro Vice-Chancellor said the leadership of education in the country had introduced standard-based curriculum to produce full-fledged students ready for the fourth industrial revolution.
A group photo of some participants in the opening ceremony of the conference
Prof. Boohene said it was incumbent on educators to be abreast of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to facilitate effective teaching and learning, stressing that "AI is leading the world."
Addressing participants on the topic, "A vision for African Education in the age of Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies", an Associate Professor of Education at the University of North Carolina, USA, Prof. Charles Hutchison, observed that current competitive market forces would compel human beings to save their minds on memory chips in the foreseeable future. According to him, Elon Musk (an American business magnate and investor) had developed Neuralink (implantable brain–computer interfaces) which had two bits of equipment.
Associate Professor of Education at the University of North Carolina, USA, Prof. Charles Hutchison
"The first is a chip that would be implanted in a person's skull, with electrodes fanning out into their brain. The second is a robot that could automatically implant the chip" he continued.
Prof. Hutchison encouraged academicians and educationists to leverage on the advantages Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents in all disciplines.
Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC