From print to digital

IT’S close to 21 years since the first CyberClass column appeared in the Mercury, asking readers to “imagine your child’s work being read in Andorra or Romania. Not so long ago this would have been an impossible dream …”

So started a long association with the Learning page. In 1997, the internet was in its infancy, Google did not exist and computers were only beginning to be a common sight in classrooms.

We have since witnessed the introduction of video- conferencing for projects between schools; access to Wi-Fi for digital devices in schools; and robots, drones, 3D printers, smartphones, tablets and an array of peripherals to support teaching and learning.

We have also seen dangers emerge in the area of cybersafety and online bullying, as well as the need to rethink classroom design with changes from computer laboratories to personal digital devices and the creation of more agile learning spaces to accommodate 21st century education.

Recent revelations about the intrusion of Facebook into our lives should make us all cautious about how we use social media. This also provides an opportunity to discuss the benefits and pitfalls of our interconnected world.

Despite the concerns we might have, students need a thorough grounding in computational thinking and digital literacy because their future employment and effective participation as citizens depends in part on these skills and understandings.

This will not happen by itself. Our observation of developments over the last 20 years is that the technology has become more sophisticated but the need for sustained, relevant professional learning for the teachers has not altered.

The delivery method has changed from face-to-face sessions in computer labs to now include online delivery, but the need for supportive and relevant professional learning opportunities is greater than ever.

Something we did not have in 1997 was the Technologies Curriculum that supports the teaching of digital technologies, endorsed by the Federal Government and being implemented in classrooms around Australia.

The implementation of this curriculum is one of great importance, in that it supports both teachers and students from their early years, to acquire skills we would not have been able to imagine when we started writing this column in 1997.

CyberClass now moves from the printed page to a new digital format — something also not imagined when the column commenced.