Trustees are guiding schools around New Zealand as they incorporate ICT into the school environment. For many, ICT is a tool that will help schools achieve important knowledge and skill goals for students. It is certainly a powerful resource that schools now have to connect our children to global information and unprecedented learning opportunities.
But is the Internet just a tool? Is it a just a 'thing' we install and utilise, or is it more? I am of the view that the Internet is more! far more, and that an awareness of that is crucial as we introduce this technology into our society, our schools and the lives of our children. But let me be clear that I do not see labeling a technology as 'good' or 'bad' as helpful in the slightest. Technologies influence us all in very different ways, but understanding and being cognisant of the influence is the key.
Remember the first computers? Many of us thought that computers were the next step up from calculators. They could calculate faster than any device before, and even with punch cards, paper tape and cabinets that filled a room, they were exciting innovations. Could we have seen in those early years where that technology would take us? how computers would transform our lives? We couldn't see that far ahead because there was no predicting the way that 'tool' would interact with human society. Nor could we predict all of the factors that would interrelate to create new applications for computers we never thought of when simply trying to 'crunch numbers' faster.
The Internet is a tool that is already changing us. We need to be aware of these changes as they happen in order to educate our children to get the maximum benefit. This includes helping young people understand the Internet environment - what it is and the sheer scale of it. Then we need to educate them about safety in this environment, privacy and social interaction in cyberspace, and ethics around issues like harassment, hacking and copyright infringement.
I haven't met anyone working in communications technology research who is willing to even hazard a guess where we will be in five years (though some will venture an opinion about two years from now). Trustees will be the ones who keep schools abreast of new developments, and can also be the ones who keep schools responsive to social impact issues. There is no negative implication in the words 'social impact' to my way of thinking. It is simply being aware that the Internet is having a more profound effect on our children's lives than simply helping them achieve learning goals.
Liz Butterfield is Director of the Internet Safety Group. She can be reached at queries@netsafe.org.nz
