Fourth Industrial Revolution, is our Classroom Ready?

We continuously strive to institute reforms in our educational system to ensure that you become globally competitive and able to meet the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

This concluding part of DepEd Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones' Graduation message pushed me to search for what she meant by then. What does Fourth Industrial Revolution mean? How do educators respond to it? How can it impact our local setting in the classroom? I'd like to share with you what I found out about this important notion.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres. It is changing almost every industry in every country. These changes proclaim the transformation of entire systems of production, management, and governance. This revolution brings us instant connectivity, unparalleled processing power and storage capacity, unlimited access to knowledge, artificial intelligence, robotics, internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, 3-D Printings, nanotechnology, biotechnology, science materials, energy storage, and quantum computing.(World Economic Forum/ www.weforum.org)

How does this industrial advancement impacts our way of teaching? Presently, our educational system is coping to this innovation- computer labs, interactive boards, e- learning, 1:1student-laptop, online classroom, OER, and various inkless/chalkless platforms. Curriculum Planners foresee this and made sure that educational curriculum's design is well-aligned and cognizant to this era. Many schools adopt easily and have stablished e-learning facilities. Teachers were continuously encouraged and offered free seminars engaging in computer manipulation and resources. 

Are we ready for this? Of course, we are! But, is our resources ready? What about schools with no electricity? Schools with no Internet and cellular signals? What if some teachers have technophobia? 

This latter part is alarming, because how can we teach what we do not know? I don't want to sound judgmental but this is the reality. It is our responsibility.

The bottom line is, teachers are flexible. We learn. We evolve. Given the proper resources, we can have a smooth ride during this Fourth Industrial Revolution.

by vcc

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