Activity 6, Week 30: Contemporary Trend in New Zealand or Internationally

An international trend that captivates my attention is the accelerated rates in which technology is growing (National Intelligence Council, 2017). Hence, one reason why I enrolled in the MindLab Post Graduate Certificate. Using Rolfe et. al's (2001) model of reflection I will look deeper into the impacts of technology growth in the education sector.

What?
I use technology every day, both in my profession and personally. With respect to digital technology, the internet is everywhere now; it is easily accessible and transportable and I heavily rely on technology to get through my day and do my job. New and improved digital technologies are constantly emerging; where would I be without it? New technologies bring new opportunities (OECD, 2016) and empowers not only individuals but groups as well (National Intelligence Council, 2017).
In my teaching practice, I rarely use digital technologies. Instead I use them to plan, create and bring to life my lessons. The children in my class are not using digital technologies as we have a lack of tools at our school. But this is changing - how can I build my students' capacities to keep up with the acceleration of technology?

So What?
Research shows that since 2009, the number of activities that are being performed on the internet at once has increased by 16% (OECD, 2016). There has also been a substantial increase of people shopping online (OECD, 2016). This means across the world, people are using the internet to access a range of media at once and are using the internet to carry out daily tasks more and more. In particular, the acceleration of digital technologies means they way we communicate with others, our work practices and ultimately how we live is widening (National Intelligence Council, 2017).

Although there are many benefits of an acceleration in technology there are also risks. It poses security risks (National Intelligence Council, 2017) and therefore online safety risks for children in the classroom. There are risks around cyber bullying, increasing the social divide and the argument that digital technology is reducing face to face communication (OECD, 2016).
A challenge I face as a teacher is how do I equip my students with the skills to keep up with a rapidly changing world? How do we ensure we use digital technology to benefit our students' learning, rather than expose them to the risks it carries? Schools need clear policies and procedures to combat risks and teachers need to be upskilled in how to develop their students' 21st Century skills in order to keep up with the trend. This is something I am beginning to do as I use my learning from the MindLab course to guide teaching and learning in my classroom.

Now What? 
The New Zealand education sector is attempting to keep up with the trend of accelerating technology by adding Digital Technology as a key learning area to our New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2017). This is in draft form, but supports teachers to teach digital technology skills which will support students to keep up with this trend.
One limitation however, is that with an acceleration in technology is happening so fast that as teachers, we may not be able to keep up with the trend because of how fast it is moving. Learning how to use digital tools is not enough. We will need to understand the core skills students need and teach them to our tamariki.

References:

Ministry of Education. (2017). Draft for Consultation: Digital Technologies Hangarau Matihiko. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media Ltd. 

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

Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D. and Jasper, M. (2001). Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user’s guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.