Sunday 1st October

The Broader Professional Context

Activity 3 - Contemporary trend in New Zealand or internationally

Trends come and go, often going full circle in a ‘repackaged’ format, fashion is an example of this.  Technology on the other hand is evolving so rapidly no one is really certain what will come next.  The definition of a trend is ‘a general direction in which something is developing or changing’ (Cambridge Dictionary).  According to the OECD (2016), trends that are shaping, education in particular include: globalisation, urbanisation, family matters and technology.  Our future is unpredictable but looking at trends can help inform policymakers about planning for the future.     

When I reflect on a current trend in my teaching practice, technology was the first thing that came to mind.  I have been teaching since 2010 and technology has evolved at a rapid pace, creating many discussions, left questions unanswered, many teachers confused and some excited by the prospect of technology becoming a ‘norm’ in education.     

So where to begin?  I think firstly at the NZ Curriculum which outlines ‘Digital Technologies will be part of The New Zealand Curriculum, beginning at Year 1 from 2018.’(Ministry of Education).  The MOE recognised that technology is shaping our lives, future jobs, how we interact with family and communities and connecting us with the wider world.   

I don’t consider myself to be particularly ‘techy’ and teaching Year 2 with 6 class ipads  offered further challenges as to where and how to begin.  Using Bee-Bots and Edison to teach coding in my classroom was a good solution and platform to begin.  Coding, in the simplest of terms, is telling a computer what you want it to do, which involves typing in step-by-step commands for the computer to follow (International Business Times).

Coding is something that teachers, teaching 21st Century Learners need to give students the opportunity to learn and engage with.  Not only does it prepare our students for the future it also makes learning fun and allows students to take more risks in a collaborative learning environment.  

e-Learning Industry identify 4 benefits of learning coding at a young age:

1. Educational benefits: This type of education helps kids to learn the basic inner workings of computers. Kids can feel successful at getting a computer to do what they tell it to do.
2. Computational Thinking: Computational thinking is a combination of advanced mathematics, algorithm development and logic. The development of computational thinking involves considering a problem and breaking it down into single-action step

3. Creativity, Thinking Fluidity: Children have creative and fluid minds that allow them to think in a more “out of the box” way. The nearly endless ways of coding and solving problems can inspire kids to grow.

4. Job Opportunities: The current generation of children will need to be literate in technology in order to be competitive in the future job market. Not knowing how to code will be comparable to not knowing how to read.

The challenge for me now is how do I implement these skills into the curriculum and achieve maximum coverage in other curriculum areas.  I need to further investigate linking STEAM and weave the technology skills into my programme to ensure they don’t ‘stand alone.’   Working collaboratively with colleagues and alongside my students will ensure we are working together to prepare them the 21st century.    

References:

https://elearningindustry.com/education-future-of-elearning
International Business Times

Ministry of Education

NovaNews

Trends Shaping Education. (2016) OECD Publishing.