Faculty Ponder the Future of Education During PD Week
Before embarking on summer holidays, CDS faculty participated in a week of professional development, department meetings and classroom and file clean up to close out the school year and prepare for the next one. As is often the case, a guest speaker is invited to speak to all three faculties (Junior, Middle and Senior) about a common theme, which this year was “Reimagining the Future of Education: Approaches to AI in the Classroom”.
Our guest was Ramona Pringle, a Technology Columnist for CBC, who was also the keynote at the CIS Ontario CITE Network Conference CDS hosted in April. Ramona is a Canadian digital journalist and currently the Director of the Creative School Innovation Studio at Toronto Metropolitan University and Director of the Transmedia Zone, an incubator for innovation in media and storytelling.
Pringle started off by citing a terrifying quote – “The future is not Google-able” by William Gibson, and went on to say that our role as teachers and parents is to help children create the future they want.
She shared a big picture view of the profound change we are witnessing as we stand “on the cusp of bringing AI into every facet of our lives” and likened it to the trajectory of social media 10+ years ago. The key is how to properly harness it. Ramona believes AI should not be perceived as a threat, rather a “super-powered assistant.”
If we position our students to use these tools to their advantage while striking a balance by continuing to teach critical thinking skills, how to properly conduct research and fact checking, and other non-AI / analogue skillsets, as educators we can ensure that our students are able to adapt to a changing world.
“AI should be part of the process, but AI still needs to be taught too – they need to be comfortable with both,” Pringle explained. “We still need to teach students how to move a 1st draft along the editorial journey – how to find the errors, fact check, refine and put your mark on it.”
As faculty depart for the summer, Pringle encouraged them to “tinker with ChatGPT” so as to become familiar with its capabilities. Ultimately, “we don’t need everyone to be technologists. What we need are good teachers and good humans. The collective is more important now than ever.”
Land Acknowledgment
The Country Day School wishes to recognize and acknowledge the land on which the school operates. Our nearest Indigenous Nations are now the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Chippewas of Georgina Island. The Dish with One Spoon Wampum covenant is often cited as an example of the shared responsibility for caring for these lands among the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples who would call these their traditional territories. CDS respects the relationship with these lands and recognizes that our connection to this land can be strengthened by our continued relationship with all First Nations, by acknowledging our shared responsibility to respect and care for the land and waters for future generations.
School Information
Junior, Middle and Senior Schools
13415 Dufferin Street, King, Ontario L7B 1K5
(905) 833-1220
communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca
Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.
13415 Dufferin Street, King, Ontario L7B 1K5
(905) 833-1220
communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca
Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.
