From the Rector

“History never looks like history when you are living through it. It always looks confusing and messy, and it always feels uncomfortable.”

(John W Gardner)

This quote is highly relevant as we navigate our way through our digital age of new and emerging technologies, which are increasingly reaching every corner of the world and every aspect of business and schooling.

“Short fuse, big bang” may sound like a description of a person you know, but it is also a 2012 report by Deloitte into the anticipated disruption into Australian business caused by digital technologies. This highly regarded report outlined potential negative and positive impacts, and the need for new models of operation. Education was identified as a sector that will experience a big “bang” (disruption) although with a longer “fuse” (timeframe). I believe this expression is most apt for the digital transformations in education.

The emergence of Generative AI (Gen AI) with the public release of ChatGPT in November 2022 set off many predictions of a big “bang” for schooling. It should be noted, however, that the long “fuse” of digital technologies has been impacting schooling for some time. For example, back in the 1990s the use of calculators in schools saw a lot of criticism with concerns of an over-reliance on calculators, losing the ability to perform mental arithmetic or understand mathematical concepts deeply. We then saw the introduction of personal laptops with BYODs and availability of Wi-Fi creating access for learning and working anywhere, anytime. This certainly assisted us in 2020 with the global COVID-19 pandemic requiring teachers to urgently move to home-based learning and rapidly upskill in using various digital tools to deliver their teaching programmes. As the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, said in 2020 “We’ve seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months.”

During the pandemic there were many predictions of schooling being radically transformed, with forecasts of online or home-based schooling becoming the way of the future. In fact, the reverse happened post-lockdowns with parents happily sending their children to school. They knew, as well as all educators, that children needed their social connections and to re-engage with their wide range of co-curricular activities through sports and the performing arts.

Schooling will always be much more than its core business of educational outcomes around qualifications – schools are highly social and relational places. Humans are created for social relationships, a sense of belonging, and a need to love and be loved. This is why meeting up with friends, being part of a sports team, performing with others on stage, and engaging in service projects, are all critically important aspects of schooling. They develop the whole young person and their character.

Most people recognise these times are a profound period of change. However, we simply cannot look to substitute technology for current approaches, nor can we simply look to switch back to the old ways. We need to leverage technology in pursuit of genuine teaching practices which will prepare our young people for their future. This will not see the end of classroom learning, as people will continue to seek out opportunities to connect and learn in person. However, there are exciting opportunities for learning experiences to be more immersive, personalised, and engaging, and for greater efficiencies in work for teachers in planning, marking, and reporting than ever before.

This year at St Andrew’s College we have been running a very success pilot programme with the use of Toddle, a new Student Learning Management system which integrates AI for tasks such as assisting teachers to design more personal learning programmes, and collating student progress data for reporting. We look forward to extending this pilot into wider staff development, with the intention of full implementation of this new platform from the start of 2027.

We are also being proactive in seeking to manage some of the negative “bangs” of digital technologies on our young people, especially related to social media. Our Preparatory School has introduced a pledge for parents to sign up to, agreeing to delay their children’s access to social media apps until Year 9. This is in response to increasing research, including Jonathan Haidt’s book The Anxious Generation (2024).

While this period of history may be seen as very confusing, messy, and uncomfortable, I remain hopeful and confident looking forward. We have the responsibility to navigate this generation’s social and technological changes which will shape their future. As we have done throughout history, together, we can and will emerge from this disruption better and stronger.

Mark Wilson
Rector