Design Thinking Innovative Tool – Virtualization

Challenge Scenario & Selection of the Tool

Among these four design thinking tools presented in the course, my first choice is the virtualization tool  or visual thinking tool to achieve a common understanding of a problematic scenario in a devised group  of stakeholders. This tool helps us to identify and define a problem space among the specific diverse group  of people by identifying and explicitly design the best possible solution to a problematic scenario.

Problem Statement:    We live in a world of terrific problems due to the influence of ever evolving new digital technologies  prompting organizations to adopt to rapid changes in their respective fields. It is very evident that,  organizations irrelevance of their size struggle with thorny issues to adopt to the organizational changes  in the new technology driven era. Author would like to critically analyze on privatization of education  sector in Sri Lanka for this design thinking opportunity assignment. This course has provided a good  opportunity to apply the concepts from this class to a real design thinking opportunity to Develop a  preliminary research plan by using tools to address the privatization issues in the education sector in Sri  Lanka.    Virtualization tool pushes us beyond using words or language alone. It is a way of unlocking a different  part of our brains that allows us to think nonverbally and that researchers might not normally use; in my  case it worked really well to visualize the requirement for the privatization of the state government owned  education sector for the betterment of more student benefits.    Stakeholder Mapping:    Stakeholder mapping is the process of defining a scope, boundaries, key elements, and relationships  between elements to consider when identifying pain points and opportunities for improvements or  solutions. In Sri Lanka, schooling is compulsory for children from 5 to 13 years of age. Education is state  funded and offered free of charge at all levels, including the university level. The government also provides  free textbooks to schoolchildren. Literacy rates and educational attainment levels rose steadily after Sri  Lanka became an independent nation in 1948 and today the youth literacy rate stands at 97%. The  government gives high priority to improving the national education system and access to education. The  medium of language could be Sinhala, Tamil or English. English is taught as a second language. Students  sit the G.C.E O/L at the end of 11 years of formal education and G.C.E. A/L examinations at the end of 13  years. The education structure is divided into five parts: primary, junior secondary, senior secondary,  collegiate and tertiary.    Identification of an Opportunity in Privatization of Education and the Methodology used in the Design  Thinking:    The first stage of the Design Thinking process is to gain an empathic understanding of the problem you  are trying to solve, in my case I am analyzing to see how privatization of the state owned education sector  give more opportunities for students who miss out the university entrance for their better future.

To say that private participation in higher education in Sri Lanka is a thorny issue would be an  understatement. Various doomsday scenarios ranging from a mushrooming of substandard degree- awarding institutes to a dystopia populated by uneducated buffoons have been presented as arguments  against privatization of higher education and, while some of these arguments are not without merit, it  must be stressed that, given the depressing numbers relating to the country’s higher education sector,  something must be done to salvage it and done fast.     During the third stage of the Design Thinking process, designers should be ready to start generating ideas.  I understand the need for privatization of the education sector in the country in the in the Empathize  stage, and I have analyzed and synthesized my observations about the need for privatization of the  education sector with a human-centered problem statement. With this solid background, I have started  to "think outside the box" to identify new solutions to the problem statement I have created, and I can  start to look for alternative ways of viewing the problem.    The Prototypes can be tested within a small group of people outside the design team. As designer of this  paper, I rigorously test my complete finding of the existing gaps in the education sector by using the best  solutions identified during the prototyping phase. This is the final stage of the 5 stage-model, but in an  iterative process, the results generated during the testing phase are often used to redefine one or more  problems and inform the understanding of the users, the conditions of use, how people think, behave,  and feel, and to empathize    A range of issues await consultation with stakeholders of education. Some of them are: (a) reducing unfair  burden on students (b) how to provide a balanced education (c) increasing students’ success rates in  languages, science and mathematics (d) increasing access to professionals to provide their services to the  functions of education (e) increasing research and publications in education (f) shifting teaching methods  toward student-centered learning (g) linking education to work life (h) improving students awareness of  career opportunities (I) channeling more resources to schools and modernizing class rooms and other  facilities (j) obtaining stakeholder participation for planning and management of schools (k) teacher  education and ICT skills of teachers, (I) increasing accountability and transparency in education, and (I)  improving the quality of education so that students acquire competencies that are valid in tomorrow’s  markets.    In my understanding, applying this visualization tool I would propose these solutions I found for the  problem scenario.    The National Institute of Education (NIE) is responsible for curriculum development, teacher guides,  training of teachers, providing higher learning opportunities for teachers and officers in education, and  carrying out research and publications in education. With the recent change of government, an attempt  is being made to charter the way forward. The newly constituted Council of NIE is taking steps now to  streamline the following:

•  Set up a forum for stake holder to mount a dialogue on issues of education and contribute to action  plans;

•  Invite the private sector to contribute financially to intensify the process of improving school  facilities, research work and publications;

•  Invite the private sector to undertake endowment professorships in the various branches of  education at the NIE;

•  Seek participation of private sector and foreign agencies in an effort to upgrade the Meepe  Education Centre of the NIE to a fully-fledged International Centre that caters to the needs of the  sector with options in education including Masters and Doctoral degree programs.

