0:00:01.410,0:00:03.317 On the relevance of education... 0:00:03.317,0:00:05.642 Of course education is relevant, 0:00:05.642,0:00:12.251 because we have to learn things in order to survive in society and in life. 0:00:12.251,0:00:17.580 But, in particular, if we’re looking at the workplace, 0:00:17.580,0:00:21.786 what kind of things we can, we need to do in the workplace, 0:00:21.786,0:00:25.563 education is relevant because we have to learn the skills 0:00:25.563,0:00:30.101 we need both in the workplace and in society at large. 0:00:30.101,0:00:31.973 And, in particular, 0:00:31.973,0:00:35.473 we need to know what kind of skills we need to use in the workplace, 0:00:35.473,0:00:38.373 not just what things we know, 0:00:38.373,0:00:42.613 but how we use those things we know when we do a job of any kind. 0:00:42.613,0:00:45.949 And as more and more jobs become knowledge-based, 0:00:45.949,0:00:50.688 we need to use information and communications technology in our jobs, 0:00:50.688,0:00:55.560 then we need to know not just the skills in using technology, 0:00:55.560,0:00:59.530 but also the skills in how to apply that technology to solve problems. 0:00:59.530,0:01:04.653 How to make products better, how to communicate better with our clients, 0:01:04.653,0:01:11.183 how to relate better with other people using the technology. 0:01:11.183,0:01:14.545 So technology is integrated with all these things, 0:01:14.545,0:01:17.815 we have to use technology in order to develop the skills we need, 0:01:17.815,0:01:23.408 and the skills we need require us to use the technology, so the two are interrelated. 0:01:23.408,0:01:26.457 The most important thing we have to do is to change the assessment system. 0:01:26.457,0:01:30.061 The assessment system is focused on knowing things, 0:01:30.061,0:01:33.100 knowing facts, and facts are important 0:01:33.100,0:01:38.455 but they have to be integrated within a wider base of knowledge. 0:01:38.455,0:01:42.206 What we have to move towards is testing skills, 0:01:42.206,0:01:46.893 assessing skills, and particularly intellectual skills. 0:01:46.893,0:01:52.848 How can we find information, apply it and use it to solve problems. 0:01:52.848,0:01:58.055 So is not about knowing, is about doing, 0:01:58.055,0:02:00.372 but doing with knowledge. 0:02:00.372,0:02:03.454 And so that’s where education comes in, 0:02:03.454,0:02:06.430 because you have to have knowledge, you have to know about things, 0:02:06.430,0:02:08.199 you have to know facts. 0:02:08.199,0:02:11.448 But they have to be, the facts are a means to an end, 0:02:11.448,0:02:12.963 not the end in themselves. 0:02:12.963,0:02:15.473 And unfortunately, our exams at the moment 0:02:15.473,0:02:20.244 are focused on facts and things and not on knowing and understanding. 0:02:20.244,0:02:22.053 And the best example of that is science, 0:02:22.053,0:02:27.226 you can know that if you mix two chemicals together you get an output, 0:02:27.226,0:02:29.315 but that doesn’t make you a scientist. 0:02:29.315,0:02:33.286 A scientist is somebody who tries to understand how the world operates, 0:02:33.286,0:02:35.226 and what the principles that guide that, 0:02:35.226,0:02:40.496 and use these facts and evidence in order to answer those questions. 0:02:40.496,0:02:43.996 So a good scientist is not somebody who knows facts, 0:02:43.996,0:02:48.039 but who knows how to answer questions about how the world works. 0:02:48.039,0:02:50.840 That’s what we have to assess in our students: 0:02:50.840,0:02:55.613 Their ability to understand how things work, how to solve problems, 0:02:55.613,0:02:59.957 how to know the underlying rationale behind things 0:02:59.957,0:03:03.457 and not just what the facts are. 0:03:03.457,0:03:06.880 We spent far too much time testing facts, 0:03:06.880,0:03:09.460 and far too little testing real understanding. 0:03:09.460,0:03:12.130 And this is where technology comes in again. 0:03:12.130,0:03:16.127 Technology is very important and it enables us to collect information, 0:03:16.127,0:03:18.164 analyze it and apply it. 0:03:18.164,0:03:21.272 And again, the technology is not the important thing 0:03:21.272,0:03:23.674 but enables us to put that stuff together, 0:03:23.674,0:03:28.713 and use information in a relevant and appropriate way.