Investing in education is investing in the future of a nation! | Macedonia

The new experiences with using digital tools have inspired changes in me, and every change made in the interest of students is welcome. This is the new way of learning, and at the same time, it is the imperative of the times. The future of education will be bright, but that doesn't mean it will be easy. Necessary changes must be made, new things that are in step with the times (such as technological innovations) must be learned, and they must be implemented in teaching.

In a world that is rapidly changing, being a teacher can be a real challenge. That is why maintaining motivation is key to high-quality teaching and lifelong learning, which are crucial for improving the quality of school education.

The growing and accelerated application of new ICT technologies in nearly all segments of society has been especially evident in education, which must prepare students for the digital era—a society based on technology. The era in which today's generations are born and raised is digital, and there is no other way but for formal education to adapt to modern trends. Innovative digital methods must be tailored to their needs. This is an opportunity that must be seized to design a modern educational system that keeps pace with contemporary developments. Children are engaged in the artistic and technological sphere from an early age, so we are preparing them for a world that is becoming increasingly complex, where success does not come only from what you know, but from what you can do with what you know.

We, as a generation of teachers, have the duty to enable them to keep pace with the highly developed world, and this can be achieved through the integration of new technologies in education, whereby these generations will become digitally literate. The speed of development of new technologies and digital tools is tremendous, and we must find a way to integrate them correctly into education—we cannot afford to ignore them.

I believe that the developmental focus of our educational system should be placed on the new digital pedagogy, and with the help of digital technologies, visual and verbal literacy should be integrated into it. Therefore, I believe that digital literacy should be an integral part of every lesson, within every teaching content, throughout an individual's entire education.

The main challenge is focusing action specifically by introducing Merge Cube into English language classes at the primary school “Krste Petkov Misirkov” in Radovish, which is the first primary school in our country where this digital tool has been implemented. The Merge Cube is the world's first and only holographic object you can hold in your hand, allowing you to hold digital 3D objects, also known as holograms. You can play, learn, and explore in magical new ways. It is a relatively simple cube, specially designed to be fast and accurate, but it comes to life when the student uses it to interact with the applications, giving them the power to control holograms!

This is a magical experience that sparks immense curiosity and engagement among students. Merge Cube works with Merge EDU, a hands-on digital learning platform that helps students effectively learn science and STEM through 3D objects and simulations they can touch, hold, and interact with. Using the Merge Cube requires a mobile device running iOS or Android. This can be a smartphone or tablet. Merge Cube is one of those tools with great educational potential for creating and using virtual 3D objects, enabling a completely new way of learning and interacting with the digital world. It is the place where you will find more than 1,000 digital teaching aids designed to be as effective as physical teaching materials for learning.

Merge Cube is best suited for primary education due to its implications in integrating technology into education and facilitating the connection between technology and learning. In English language classes, students can use this application to illustrate and describe vocabulary or grammatical structures. It can also be used to create multimodal texts such as summaries, stories, books or movie reviews, discussions, brainstorming activities, or any other task involving writing and illustrations. This can encourage students to find or create their own objects to place and share. Attention in the classroom is not gained through monotony and textbook recitation, but through practical and innovative examples. Digital literacy is an important, and perhaps the most important, segment we must work on in reforming education. The importance of knowing and advanced application of digital skills by today's students represents a kind of passport they are filling out today, and it will be essential for performing the professions of the future. It is high time we take this seriously and immediately start making changes.