CONTEMPORARY TRENDS

BLOG POST 3

WEEK 27

CONTEMPORARY TRENDS

There are several definitions of what a “trend” actually is.  The Cambridge English Dictionary  defines a trend as  a general development or change in a situation or in the way that  people are behaving. 

According to Visser and Gagnon (2005), the term “trend” refers to the statistically observable change or general orientation of a general movement (Visser & Gagnon, 2005).   Wilson (2012) acknowledges that these changes would have an impact within a field or wider environment.

A Global trend that is identified by the US National Intelligence Council (2017) “Global trends paradox of progress” as well as the KMPG International’s (2014) “Future State 2030”  is the fact that technology advancement  is moving very quickly and that it is affecting every area of society.  This is evident in the education sector with the mere presence of the different forms of technology that are integrated into the classrooms and teaching environments.  Robinson (2010) also refers to the changing role of the teacher in the 21^st century classroom and attributes this to the fast emergence and development of technology as the reason for the need to change. We now live in a world where our learners are exposed to a whole new world of instant information because knowledge is at the fingertips of everyone who has technology available and access to the internet.

The Trends Shaping Education (OECD 2016) refers to this trend as the “Brave New World”.  This trend has specific relevance to my position as a teacher in the 21^st century environment as I realise more and more every day that teaching is not restricted to the boundaries of the local community in which you work. Over the last few years, technology has moved so quickly that teachers are increasingly connected in a variety of ways. This means that I need to keep up to date with the latest changes and advances in technology so that I can expose my students to them in order to better equip them with the skills required in the 21^st century.

In the OECD (2016) report, there is much evidence to support the uptake of technology across the world.  This is evident in our daily life with the increase in internet use including online shopping and global use of social media.  Teaching is ever evolving and now learning has moved beyond the simple imparting of knowledge towards actively seeking knowledge and their learning has made the shift from a localised to a globalised environment.

The Paradox of Progress (National Intelligence Council 2017) report explores the change in people’s communication, work and how we live due to the introduction and ever developing changes in technology.  It could be argued that the ever developing technological word we live in is partly responsible for a change in attitude of students.  Some of the observations I have made include a lessened attention span and impatience if things don’t happen instantly.  The world of technology is at our fingertips and little patience is required to acquire knowledge.   On one hand I feel that the education system needs to adapt to these technological advances and not resist them but on the other hand I feel that potentially we risk the loss of the social interaction of the students and the important skills associated with human contact.  It concerns me that the teachers of today could be ‘replaced’ by technology and I see part of the role of the teacher to be integral in the development of social interaction.

REFERENCES

Cambridge University Press (2017), Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus, retrieved from: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/trend

KPMG International. (2014). Future State 2030: the global megatrends shaping governments. KPMG International Cooperative: USA. Retrieved from https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2014/02/future-state-2030-v3.pdf

National Intelligence Council. (2017). Global trends: The Paradox of Progress. National Intelligence Council: US. Retrieved from https://www.dni.gov/files/images/globalTrends/documents/GT-Main-Report.pdf

OECD. (2016) Trends Shaping Education 2016, OECD Publishing, Paris. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/trends_edu-2016-en

Robinson, K. The RSA.(2010, Oct 14). RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

Visser, L., & Gagnon, K. (2005). Defining “Trends” and “Issues” in Distance Education. Conversation with Donald Paul Ely Y. Visser, L. Visser, M. Simonson & R. Amirault (Eds. de la serie), Trends and Issues in Distance Education. International Perspectives, pp.83-89.

Wilson, B. (2012). Trends and issues facing distance education. In L. Visser, Y. Visser M., R. Amirault & M. Simonson (2nd Ed.) Trends and Issues in Distance Education. International Perspectives (pp.39-54). North Carolina: Information Age Publishing, Inc.