By Glenn O’Farrell, President and CEO Groupe Média TFO
Last year, the World Economic Forum concluded that 65% of children entering primary school will ultimately end up working in completely new job types that don’t yet exist. As a public educational media organization, we are dedicated to help current and future generations of Francophones in Ontario and the rest of the country thrive for the future of work. Given the evidence of the massive change to come with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we used our modest means to study the situation at home and abroad and felt it was our responsibility to share our concerns and observations.
A few weeks ago, Groupe Média TFO released a paper entitled, An Emergency for the World of Education: Adapting to the Digital Revolution (see the full report). Our goal was to develop a basic understanding of the skills and competences required in the rapidly changing job market. We reviewed a number of Canadian and international data and consulted experts. On the basis of what we observed, we imagined a few initiatives to evolve / transform current educational practices to respond to technological innovation and the new economy of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We concluded that much is at stake and we must act now to develop digital learning solutions designed for the jobs of the future.
To accomplish these objectives, we need to rethink the way we teach and inspire learning. This means prioritizing innovation and new technologies in educational policy, adapting resources to fit the demands of a knowledge economy and empowering students to take charge of their own learning. We provide more details in the paper.
The availability of and access to digital learning content, tools and solutions in French and English can not be left as an abstract concept but most become a dynamic reality.
We are deeply concerned by the need for Canada to develop a competitive advantage wherever possible.
Innovation must be our lingua franca across the country. It certainly is ours.
As a recent example, Groupe Média TFO embarked on the development of a blockchain prototype for the audio-visual sector as a mean to explore the possibility of creating a revolutionary new model for content creation, production and distribution in Canada. We invited others to participate and expect to complete the prototype phase in the spring of 2018.
We are ourselves committed to learning, unlearning and relearning. And to creating quality digital educational content to help future-proof young Canadian learners, so they will have the best chance to thrive in the new economy.