Teaching foundational technology skills, fostering an understanding of responsible digital citizenship and encouraging curiosity and a healthy respect for innovation, TCS is working to graduate young people who are digitally literate and possess critical thinking skills suited for a complex world of increased digital interaction. With a student-centred focus, we know that this skillset will well equip the next generation in their career pursuits (for jobs yet to even be imagined), and also well position our students to live a life of purpose and service, having aligned our community’s values in the introduction of these tools.
And the time is right, with the lightning-fast technology advancements (now advancing by the day, not year) projected to dramatically change the way that people engage with others and interact with the planet, where the rapid proliferation of information and knowledge demands thoughtful engagements.
Tech talk
TCS’s Assistant Head of Senior School - Teaching & Learning, Myke Healy, explains that at TCS “we understand that a key competency for young people is digital literacy related to basic programming, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and emerging digital technologies.” In both the Junior and Senior Schools, pedagogical decisions are guided around the instruction of new and emerging technologies as preparation for the future.
As one example, all Grade 9 students are required to take a newly developed computer studies course – Grade 10 Digital Technology and Innovations in the Changing World – which introduces them to the hardware and software technologies that can support them in a wide range of fields and careers.
And then there is the most discussed, and hard to ignore, topic of late: generative artificial intelligence (AI). As Derek Thompson of The Atlantic/Plain English Podcast notes: “Just as social media became the dominant techno-cultural innovation in the last decade, AI-influenced everything will be the dominant techno-cultural innovation of the next decade.” Stefan Wilson, Junior School curriculum coordinator and Grade 8 teacher, acknowledges that “just like internet research once felt risky, this can and will feel risky.” At the same time, he is convinced that our students are best served by being taught earlier how to use these AI tools effectively and responsibly.
With an understanding of these anticipated impacts on the classroom specifically, the TCS Junior School and Senior School embrace the reality that students are not only aware of generative AI tools, but are also actively experimenting with them. And while there are undeniably valid concerns regarding possible negative impacts of AI relating to academic integrity, equally undeniable are the endless opportunities of inviting AI into certain classroom learning. With this in mind, Mr. Healy notes that “teachers are exploring and using different ways to aid student achievement with the tech. For example, a student can use popular AI platform, ChatGPT, as a quiz buddy to help review for a test or use the software to help with the brainstorming process in essay writing.”
Mr. Healy goes on to confirm that “as the implications, limitations and possibilities of generative AI unfold – and every week seems to bring new revelations – TCS will continue to strive to ensure our students are well-prepared to think critically and understand the possibilities.”
Tech in support of climate concerns
When considering our students, another keen focus for the future is the need to raise awareness and prompt action regarding the stewardship of our planet. As adults in this learning community, it is critical that we not only teach, but also role model, the changes needed to help ensure a healthy globe for generations to come. The School’s sustainability programs operate using a whole school sustainability approach that considers our campus, curriculum and community culture – and technology plays a leading role!
Alison Elliott, the School’s sustainability programs director, shares that “the ‘greening’ of our campus infrastructure is greatly enabled through various behind- the-scenes technologies, most signifi- cantly, the building automation systems hardware and software that monitor, regulate and communicate details of our energy systems.” These technologies contribute to reducing the School’s costs, fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The School also employs software that monitors our solar photo- voltaic inverters, providing not only operational information, but also data that can be studied and considered in the teaching and learning process.
Bolstering scientific inquiry in the Junior School, science teachers recently purchased Micro:bit hardware, which are pocket-sized computers to use for coding. According to Ms. Elliott, “these innovative devices allow students to code the device to collect specific data, for example, temperature or sunlight, which is then uploaded to specific software for analysis, allowing for further learning on topics such as climate change and ecosystem restoration.”
Beyond the classroom, thoughtful environmental actions are intentionally a daily occurrence at the School and the tools used for researching, tracking and reporting these actions are found in purposeful educational software. From student green reps digitally tracking monthly, house-based eco-actions, to housekeepers populating spreadsheets with waste, fibre and container bin data, this information is easily shared and further motivates community members to reduce and sort waste conscientiously and correctly.
Where the learning begins
As the School offers opportunities to expand students’ exposure to and competencies around various technological advancements, so they are best prepared for a digital-dominant future, our faculty members need to keep pace in their own learning. That is why the School is committed to implementing compelling professional development opportunities on effective practices related to educational technology. Professional development is the key to ensuring the rapidly-changing digital landscape is understood and championed by our faculty and is reflected in the School’s curriculum development and delivery. As an example, while continually monitoring the evolution of generative AI, early in 2023, two faculty PD sessions on the topic were held on campus, to educate on this technology and inform on the potential impact on education.
In April, another session was offered, focussing on productive uses of the technology in the classroom, including the varying impacts and applications relating to different academic disciplines. Mr. Healy, notes, “The challenges and opportunities these large language models pose to science, compared to languages, compared to social sciences, require our Senior School academic departments to sit down and discuss how these new tools are going to both augment and disrupt long-held practices. For those of us who like change, it is an exciting time to be in education.”
