Week 30 The impact of Global Trends On Education.
WEEK 30
THE IMPACT OF GLOBAL TRENDS ON EDUCATION
A current trend that is impacting on education is the impact
of digital learning in education.
We have students hitting our classes who are digital
natives. They have grown up with technology as part of their everyday lives and
the reality is that it will only become a bigger part of our society as time
goes by.
As educators we are challenged with the job of using the
technology to best serve our students to help educate them and make them ready
for either further education when they leave school or for future jobs and the
workforce. We are challenged to keep up with the technology ourselves and
assess how best to use it to allow for the best outcomes for our students.
There is an increased trend for the use of technology but we
can question how effectively are we doing this? Every teachers skill set are
different and the access to digital technologies in schools is different.
Beyond school you do not need to go far to see digital
technology in action. It is ingrained now in all aspects of our lives, from
shopping to banking. How we watch TV or find our information. It is an integral
part of our jobs and our leisure activities. So some level of knowledge about
how to use and develop digital technology is now an essential component of
making students ready for the world beyond school.
Research has shown that there is a shortage of people with
qualifications and the ability to work in the IT sector. There is a massive gap
between students leaving formal education with the ability to take up these
jobs in our labour force. The research shows that we need more people with
advanced digital skills. https://digitalskillsforum.nz/2017/12/18/digital-skills-shortage-should-sound-warning-bell/
Digital exclusion is a factor for people in our society
beyond school and is something that the government is aware of and has measures
in place to address.(Soper)
The shortage of these skills and the issues for societies
across the world is similar. Extensive research has been carried out in the UK
that mirrors the finding of studies in New Zealand. The following website as
many examples of these. https://2020.org.nz/.
These studies show that if people have access to technology and the skills to
use them they can make a very positive impact on their lives. Keeping them
connected and giving them access to such things and knowledge and products that
they may not of otherwise.
The new digital curriculum should be a tool to help address these
identified issues. Education reforms have been implemented this year that
should help to address this. The question is though, how effectively has this
been embraced in our schools? It is up to all of us to do this or should it be
an isolated and separate subject? Teachers have the opportunity to complete a
digital passport which gives them skills to help with implementing this
curriculum. I know that it would be beneficial to complete this but have yet to
find the time to complete this short course. I am sure that there are many
teachers who are not even aware that this is available to us.
With the fast rate of change in the way that digital
technology is used in wider society I think it is up to schools and teachers to
embrace it where and how they can. We need to accept that the students in front
of us now are growing up with digital devices as their normal and we need to
accept that this is the future.
REFERENCES
National Intelligence
Council. (2017). Global trends: The Paradox of Progress. National Intelligence
Council: US. Retrieved from https://www.dni.gov/files/images/global
Trends/documents/GT-Main-Report.pdf
OECD. (2016) Trends Shaping Education 2016, OECD Publishing,
Paris. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/trends_ edu-2016-en Daggett, B. (2014).
Addressing Current and Future Challenges in Education. Retrieved from http://www.leadered.com/pdf/2014MSC_AddressingCurrentandFutu
reChallenges.pdf
Pearson. (2013). Global trends: The world is changing faster
than at any time in human history.[video].Retrieved from https://ww
w.youtube.com/watch?v=SdZiTQy3g1g
Hi Melanie, I agree that learners come in as digital natives as most are able to competently able to use an iPad at 2! But do you think their other skills are now declining? I have found that our young learners are coming in with less oral language and gross motor skills as the years have progressed - is this a down side of technology?
ReplyDeleteI liked your question 'how effectively are we doing this?' in regards to teaching using technology. i feel that I am not doing it well with the younger years. I always felt it was easier at year 4+ and I need to research more about how to incorporate this better into my daily programmes. We use seesaw to 'share' and 'celebrate' but what else should we use it for - do one app well I believe :)
Hi Melanie
ReplyDeleteYes we are teaching digital natives and I certainly feel like a digital dinasour some days. I would question though: are our students as digitally savvy as we tend to believe? I think they can find their ways around social media pretty well and I currently see plenty of my students accessing Fortnite like experts. I do not believe these skills are transferred quite so well to finding their way around the google suite or accessing research with expertise.
I know the expectation for the new digital curriculum is that it is everyones responsibility. I am intrigued to read that by the end of year 10 all learners should be digitally capable. It will be interesting to see if this can be achieved as I do not think that our learners are technologically literate by year 10 in other technology areas. An ongoing problem with the tensions that arise around the purpose of the technology learning area - a vocational pathway or a subject designed to create innovative, critical thinkers? Throw home economics into the mix and tensions rise even further.
To date there have been no conversations at my school about how the new digital curriculum will be implemented or who will be responsible for it. Best we all get enrolling in the Digital Passport before it is no longer free and begin to get another curriculum area under our belt, sigh....feeling tired already!!