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Future Focused

This quote, along with “New technology is common, new thinking is rare.” – Sir Peter Blake, are two statements that are resoundingly true. We as educators are consistently looking to improve the quality of education that our students receive, whether through improvements in our pedagogy, access to better resources, or simply creating a learning environment with many diverse options to approaching learning. I feel as if there is a disconnect between how quickly society advances in the integration of technology in our daily lives and the curriculum being delivered in schools. Do specifics matter anymore? If a student knows how to find information, does memorizing specific facts still hold value? Are subjects such as history changing because the facts are less important compared to the ability to find that information on your own? I’m continually frustrated with how no technology curriculum exists for intermediate and younger students in the public board, and the vital content that should be taught is varied from school to school. Some places don’t even teach technology! How can students be learning critical 21st century skills such as coding, robotics, and understanding how to use tech tools effectively if they don’t have learning directed towards developing such skills.

Sharing our information:
I’m interested in seeing what @ONeducation, @OCT_OEEO and @CanTeachersFed think as large groups who share the voice of teachers think. The lack of a technology curriculum is something that should be in discussion, it’s been over 25 years since computers showed up in schools! #TeachTec #Technologyinschool #Summer2018IICTI

Reflection:
The government moves slowly when it comes to education, so I feel it’s important to have schools independently look forward to what is needed to ensure the success of students and provide the programming they need. Some experts project that up to 80% of current jobs as we know them may be lost to automation, there is a large shift in society coming and as it stands our students may not have the right tools for the future world. As the quotes refer to, quite a few of us are stuck teaching “in the past” because it’s worked before, but it might not be right.

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