ACADEMIC Digital Technology
You only need to read the latest news on any online newspaper to be aware that our society is rapidly evolving through its connection with technology, says Director of ICT Services, Paul Rodley.
This change is impacting on our lives in many ways and shaping a changing approach to the careers that our boys will follow in the future. The boy who leaves College in 2020 will need a range of different skills from the one who left in 2000. The concept of work will be different. They may have a series of jobs they are working on, even across different time zones. “Of course there will still be offices and such, but the nature of work is changing and at College, we want to ensure our students are ready, not only in technical skills, but in other skill sets such as problem solving, collaboration, and the ability to take measured risks,’’ Mr Rodley says.
All Year 9 boys next year will be involved in digital thinking where they will have project-based learning for a certain number of hours a week. This will continue throughout the following year groups. “Our approach to technology is we are not just saying this is how you use technology, rather we want a course that builds explicit skills, and which uses real-life problem solving. We want the boys to think about the role that robotics and the Internet of things play, as well as coding. Already the Internet of things is significant. Our phones can talk to our home heating, our entertainment systems are increasingly Internet- based, and this will continue to grow.
“How will these changes affect our boys lives? “Students also need to understand and take responsibility for things such as global warming,’’ he says. “How can global issues be addressed? How can the problems be solved? “They need to know how to use technology but will learn it through doing other things, for example as an air sampling project employing a robot which they have designed. Most of all, we want them to take existing technology and think
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Christ’s College Canterbury
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