Before reading this blog, reflect on the blessings and misfortune you have experienced in the last few months. You could acknowledge the walls and the windmills you may have built….
When the winds of change blows, some people build walls, some build windmills.
Chinese proverb
What windmills?
Through the coronavirus Covid-19, the windmills that have been built have yet to be technological. The idea of teleconferencing started with a picture phone (see below) in 1968. The tools that have helped us communicating with our colleagues, relatives and friends (i.e., Skype , Google Hangout, Zoom ) have be been adopted part of necessity, rather than innovation. The aforementioned have been on the market for quite a few years. While some of them have been integrated in big corporations communication systems, face-to-face meetings and office work was the only option.
Sharing documents with our colleagues has been achieved for quite a long time too. File servers and other cloud facilities have supported sharing organisational knowledge through the whole organisations and departments. Some businesses, such as Implied Logic, have been successful by relying on Cloud technologies. We have been sharing our calendars with online services for a while too. We have been editing documents remotely using online applications. So the tools and technology existed before the crisis.
The people who have built windmills may have used more effectively the elastic load balancing of virtual machines in data centres. These people may be the owners of their own data centres around the globe. These video conferencing tools appears to work much more smoothly despite a high demand.
Some other people who have built windmills may have organised their working practice and organised differently their business practice, so that their business survives, their colleagues and employees can continue to thrive in their employment, and a seamless transition occurs. So training (online training sorry), empathy and supportive attitude may have flatten the pyramid of power.
The super-heroes who are currently building real windmills are the doctors and other researchers working every day to find a cure or a vaccine. These people are adopting a wide range of technologies in conjunction of each others to communicate worldwide with us, study cells and the virus itself and automate the creation of drugs. These windmills should be celebrated and encouraged widely.
- https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/articles/the-coronavirus-outbreak-331371
- https://www.geospatialworld.net/article/the-sino-approach-use-of-technology-to-combat-covid-19/
- https://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2020/05/13/covid-19-the-cancer-experts-lending-their-tech-to-the-search-for-a-treatment/
- https://sciencebusiness.net/network-updates/attract-technologies-help-fight-covid-19
Building walls or destroying walls?
For many children their wishing of having no education may have been granted for a little. Parents have been forced, by necessity, to home school their children. The success of such schemes can be extremely successful for some individuals. For some others it may not be.
Schools whose many pupils are fortunate to be from an affluent background are likely to thrive. They will have access to the technology, perhaps more than a phone or a tablet. Some of these pupils are likely to have been encouraged to be active, become independent and work hard. Many of these children who have witnessed their parents going to work and are likely to develop a strong work ethics. These pupils are experiencing a great opportunity to develop 21st-Century skills sets and perhaps become more independent.
What about the other pupils? One of my kids school was not able to set regular online education as only 27% of their pupils would be able to engage in this type of education. One of my child did not engage as they witness the other one experiencing outstanding, innovative, inspirational, and stimulating distance learning. Their views are the following:
I can watch videos on YouTube and complete online quizzes whenever I want. Actually I have learnt a lot more about vikings and Anglo-Saxons on YouTube documentaries. I still do not have any feedback from my teachers. It is not real work, like I do in the classroom. If it would be like my sister’s school, I would do it. You know that Mum !
One of my children views on poor distance education
The tale of the Rats des Villes et Rats des champs. What is working for some people, it does not for others. Luxuries like fast broadband, suitable electronic equipments and IT skills are becoming the foundation of society from an even earlier age. Luxuries like a good organisation and supportive teachers, who can plan work in any environments that engaging, meets the students needs and let’s them complete work becomes a necessity. This aspects may have appeared to be overlook. Moving forward from a face-to-face education to distance education is a big jump, that is something to consider.
Secondary, Further and higher education is not shielded either from this great divide. Their pupils and students may be better equipped to use IT tools for some lecturers, online exams, online submission of assessments. However, the system is changing to its core. This academic year, its assessments are based on the merit of classroom work and educators judgement. So a fairer and broader criteria is being considered to measure the achievements of the pupils and students.
For once elephants, fish, dogs, and penguins may have a better chance to compete. More seriously, disadvantaged students suffering from some forms of physical and mental disabilities or health problems should have a fairer form of assessments. It is not a new idea, but one to continue to fight for….
So what is next …
At the moment, building windmills and continuing to be successful at it will require even more adaptability skills. Our ability to evolve in the right direction guide our chance to move forward in our education, careers, research. We should learn from our mistakes, admit them and get better at what we are doing.
So educating young and older people should adapt to a mixed model of bricks and clicks. Some professions can be balanced more between distance and office work.
Researchers also need to start continue to work together internationally, so that pandemics and other disease can be prevented. Communicators should start educating people on a global basis about the benefits of lowering pollution, looking after ourselves and perhaps slowing down a bit. Perhaps we should start to reducing the big technology poverty and divide.
We may not know the answers now, but we should endeavour to be more inclusive, empathic, sharing community of practices using a variety of tools. This can be online tools or face-to-face. We need to be reminded, we are no castaways and we need each other to thrive in a sustainable manner.
Interesting Computing 