Seminar to focus on edtech
ONE of the world’s top 50 most influential educationtechnology experts will be in Dunedin next week to talk about New Zealand’s transition to digital education, and the hurdles that come with it.
The Mind Lab and Tech Futures Lab founder Frances Valintine, of Auckland, said the country’s primary and secondary schools were ‘‘torn’’ between ‘‘the analogue world that we all know and grew up in, and this very digital world that is going with the future of work’’.
‘‘There’s a lot of transition in education right now.’’
She said her seminar at Logan Park High School next Monday would ask questions about how the education system will take what it knows, what its priorities for education are, and how it will ‘‘overlay this new world which is converging’’.
‘‘Jobs are changing significantly and we still have an obligation to the students of today and the leaders of tomorrow.
‘‘How do we make sure that we’re not holding on to legacies just because we know and it’s familiar?
‘‘The talk is really focused on what are the good levers to pull, what’s changing and why do we need to be aware of things that are perhaps outside our scope.’’
Ms Valintine said the Ministry of Education and schools were looking at a number of changes to the education system concerning edtech, but there was no overarching vision.
‘‘I’m trying to get this conversation going where people understand at the very macro level.
‘‘Why are we doing this? What does it actually mean for our kids?
‘‘There is a lot of fear about technology. If education has served a parent very well, they are often very reluctant for their kids to do something different.’’
Ms Valintine is an education futurist who has won numerous awards for her educational programmes.
She is known for her work which aims to improve outcomes for the next generation by studying education delivery and content in the 21st century.