Week 27 - The broader professional context

What impact are global trends having on education and more specifically how are they affecting my practice? 

When doing the reading for this particular blog, there was one global trend that jumped out to me straight away. This may seem like the easy route for someone studying digital and collaborative learning, but digital technologies are having an ever increasing effect on my teaching practice and on the practice of the students and teachers around me. 

OECD’s Trends Shaping Education 2016 identifies the impact of technology as one of five of the top global trends shaping education around the world. The exponential growth of technology in recent years has opened our eyes to endless possibilities as educators. It both excites us and terrifies us in equal measure and, as more of our lives are conducted online, it is essential that we understand the true impact that the developments will have on teaching and learning. 

In the US National Intelligence Council’s (2017) “Global trends: The Paradox of Progress”, technology is woven across a number of themes. The impact of technology on jobs and careers, labour markets, global connections are discussed at length and predictions about what possibilities lie before us. Whilst the advancements in technology are seen to be empowering, the risks of failing to utilise the technologies available to us effectively are worth far more thought. 

The OECD's report uses the following infographic to highlight just some of the opportunities and risks that technology provides for us in education.

What does that mean for me?

We have just moved to BYOD for parts of the school (Y7/8/10). This has provided us with far more opportunities for students to access information and be more collaborative and creative. The pace of change within the school has accelerated rapidly. Whilst the possibilities have improved dramatically, the teaching is yet to catch up. Teachers need PD and they need it to be applicable to their teaching. 

Some staff are responding positively, but a lot of staff are approaching the development with a fixed mindset and consequently not all students are now provided with the same opportunities.  

It will be up to our staff to model positive responses to the changing landscape and while it is important for us to teach students how to use the technology it is just as important to teach them how to be open to change. 

We have the responsibility to guide globally connected, collaborative and brave students as they move into the 'real world'. Their future is not our future and their future is technology ridden. Teaching them the skills they need to navigate this confidently and safely is an integral part of our job. 

As a PE teacher the social and safety aspects of the use of this technology are my main focus. BYOD is bringing with it many logistical challenges for staff (lack of suitable wifi, charging issues, having to teach students the very basics) but this will come over time. The opportunities are endless; its impossible to even predict the effect new technologies will have on teaching... but one thing is for sure, its up to us to prepare students for life after school and we can only do that if we keep them safe. Having processes and policies in place to do this is important and we are having challenges surrounding this presented to us every day. Currently the process seems to be about fighting fires but I hope that we can do more as a collaborative staff to iron out some foreseeable risks to our students. 

References

National Intelligence Council. (2017). Global trends: The Paradox of Progress. National Intelligence Council: US. Retrieved from https://www.dni.gov/files/images/globalTrends/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