It’s Science Fiction
You’ve heard it before, technology in our lives and our kids’ lives is unavoidable. It’s what drives our world as we know it. I grew up in a time when technological advances moved so fast that many people had a hard time keeping up. Still, many people don’t understand how most of the technologies work that help us professionally, at home, or throughout our everyday lives or why they can do the things they do. We live in a time where cybercrime is reportedly costing us between $5-10 billion dollars a year. That’s a billion with a B! We live in a world with self-driving vehicles, smart devices throughout our homes, rockets coming and going to space, and where artificial intelligence can write a better essay than your professor. It probably could have written this article! We have complete connectivity everywhere to everyone and we need to be prepared… It’s not going away. It sounds scary and close to science fiction…and it is.
I have had opportunities to work in many fields. These include the military, manufacturing, legal, wholesale, education, and healthcare. This gives me a unique perspective on educational needs in many areas of each industry. So, what do I see the need for, and what do I think we should be educating individuals on besides traditional education? Let’s talk about technology in our everyday lives and what the world needs from our students.
Integrate Technology
Taking breaks from technology is important, it’s consuming and like anything in excess can cause harm. However, we need to have programs in place from day one of our education on the use of technology. It’s a broad topic for sure. I feel individuals coming out of school today should understand and use technology as an enabler in their lives to the level I do. In the future, my job shouldn’t exist the way it does today. Everyone should know what I know. Plus, that would bring about a huge bonus… no more family tech support, we can all support ourselves! I feel everyone finishing their formal education should have a foundational level of knowledge on computing, file structures, office suites, gaming, smart devices, artificial intelligence, basic coding, network fundamentals, robotics, cybersecurity, and how to use and manage technologies relating to each in a safe and secure way. When I was working in education, my head felt like it wanted to explode. There are so many areas lacking in this basic integration of technology in each class a student attends at so many levels. So, what can you do as an educator? Start thinking about how you can integrate technology into every class, and every subject at every level. This doesn’t mean screen time or actually being on a computer, especially at a young age. Building a program and developing the mind to understand different areas of technology can involve the use of objects, art, games, and other creative methods. At higher levels, If you teach math, start integrating coding and AI. If you teach art, integrate graphic editing, file structure, and social media. If you teach business, integrate cybersecurity and privacy. If you don’t know how… You should learn. Make good use of those professional development days!
In the past, I worked with an innovative company, Blackbaud, which as part of their portfolio is heavily invested in providing a robust learning management system and total school solution integrating technology into the program. Having technology leaders in the school systems and universities who know how to use these types of systems and the ability to integrate other technologies into them in order to provide a cohesive experience can be critical to education's future success. These are just some basic examples, but you can apply this type of thinking at every level throughout an individual’s educational journey.
There’s a lot to learn and it’s a big ask, but if it's integrated from day one, it becomes foundational knowledge of our educated population.
Security First
Most recently, I have been interested in, and working within, the field of cybersecurity. There is a big gap in the speed of evolving technology and the ability to protect our information and private data. One reason for this is, like I have always said in all my roles, security first, then productivity. No, I don’t want to stop progress, but I definitely don’t want people to lose their identities, companies to pay millions in ransom, or anyone to suffer financial harm for lack of preparedness. Educating individuals in this throughout their lives is of critical importance. It will roll over into their professional lives and be a part of what’s expected of them.
An individual who causes a data privacy or security breach can be fired on the spot as many companies hold a “zero tolerance” policy when it comes to protecting company and individuals’ data. We need to make sure people understand there must be a balance to progress. To do that it is critical to embrace security first. Some of you may make the point, “Who’s to say we aren’t educating the next infamous hacker or the hero that will bring them down?” Well, we won’t know, but if we integrate teaching cybersecurity, there will be a trend of awareness, and those individuals and groups that battle hackers and hacker organizations will grow in capability and size. I feel teaching cybersecurity and privacy in all educational programs will start a downward trend in cybercrime in the future.
Embrace It
Okay, I digress back to where I started, integration and embracing change in education to integrate technology. Students really want our schools and universities to support advances in consumer innovations in technology, go ahead and ask them! I know there are many educators that agree with me. I network with many of them today and discuss how most educational programs can be lacking in these areas. We need educators who are well-versed in teaching using technology in their programs, and the funds to do it.
We need to educate our educators and future educators too! Leaders of schools need to fund this and understand the necessity of change. The world is changing extremely fast and we need people better educated in technology as a foundational knowledge in all professions. I know there are other like-minded thinkers out there, who feel the same way, but it needs to be across the board in all public and private institutions. Not just the niche schools, or those one-off innovation schools.
So change your mind, embrace it, and educate for what we need, what we want, and for positive change in the future.