AI literacy book

 This open source book - Towards AI literacy 101+ - creative and critical practices, perspectives and purposes contains a range of short stories on AI. Examples are provided as to the challenges and ways to define AI literacy and the many interpretations of AI literacy across various educational levels and disciplines. The range of articles show how diverse education actually is and that there is never a 'one size fits all' model. Education, by the grounding of its purpose, must be of relevance to learners and the communities it serves. Therefore, how each context needs to use and apply AI, provides how AI literacy could be introduced and integrated. 

The 'generic' skill or competency to come to grips with AI would be critical thinking. Again, to be able to think critically in various contexts, is variable. The discipline or subject is but a platform from which the development and application of critical thinking is grounded. Care there needs to be taken when designing learning, to ensure that there is a balance between discipline/subject-based 'situated learning' and to ensure that learners are provided with models and skills to 'cross the boundary' when they make shifts across  disciplinary fields.

Postdigital science and education - journal

This journal - Postdigital Science and Education - is a 'generalist' journal, bringing various disciplines including education, social sciences, humanities and the impact and effect of digital technologies on these.

Currently the journal is into issue 6. The journal publishes both research-based studies and practitioner experiences. 

I came into the journal through this article - the challenge of postdigital literacy: extending multimodality and social semiotics for a new age. A proposal is made in the article, to move towards understanding literacy as 'embodied modeling competency. The framework does away with the digital/non-digital divide and argues that all meaning making is similar. Therefore, it is important to look at literacy beyond what is taught in the formal school sector and instead move away from text and language focused learning towards embodiment and how humans interelate with the physical objects and environments which make up digital places.  

OECD Digitial Education Outlook 2023

The OECD's digital education outlook for 2023 provides an overview of OECD's countries' digital infrastructure and governance. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/c74f03de-en/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/c74f03de-en

The report collates information on the digital ecosystems availed across countries, summarises issues around access, use and governance of digital technologies and data used in education, the support provided for research and development in digital education, and distills a set of opportunities, guidelines and guardrails for the effective and equitable use of AI and digital technology in education. 

The report is available to read on the web but pdf is only available through payment or subscription. 

Workforce development councils (WDCs) to be disestablished - what will replace them?

 As the current government dismantles the various initiatives of the Aotearoa NZ Reform of Vocational Education (RoVE), this year's budget announcement last week, provided another confirmation the final moves.

Te Pūkenga's disestablishment is moving along. The Regional Skills Leadership Groups (RSLGs) funding ended at the beginning of the year. Funding for Work Development Councils (WDCs) and Centres for Vocational Excellence (CoVEs), end next year. 

At the moment, there is little from the present government on what will replace Te Pūkenga and what happens to the many functions undertaken especially by WDCs. An opinion piece by Jeremy Sole in the Contractor MagazineAn opinion piece by Jeremy Sole in the Contractor Magazine, provides some food for thought on the roles of WDCs and what may happen next.

We therefore await details on what will happen next, as the sector reverts to pre-RoVE (sort of) and the various responsibilities of the disestablished organisations are dispersed to other existing organisations or alllocated to possible new entities.