Coming from 15+ years in tertiary education in creative tech, I've seen the digital divide and lack of digital literacy skills with rangatahi. But there’s another layer: the push to get more Māori and Pasifika rangatahi into tech, because of low representation in the industry. While I fundamentally support this idea, I don't when it is clear that this is not their passion - you've written a similar themed article about this before.
What frustrates me is I’ve seen first-hand how failing a tech-orientated tertiary programme can derail their plans for higher education in other fields. Not all rangatahi want to work in tech, but they still need the tools and skills to thrive in digital spaces.
I’ve seen some great community groups working outside traditional education frameworks to address this, and agree AI has huge potential, from an Indigenous lens.
it is quite the dilemma we have where there's a reality about technological literacy and proficiency that permeates any and every industry in some way and that our communities must find a way to address this that isn't forcing our rangatahi into tech when, as you say "...it is clear that this is not their passion".
I guess this is where the rise of AI is interesting to me, because it may be something we can tailor, by ourselves, or our use case, that can potentially deliver, what institutions and struggling community initiatives, have failed to in the past.
I've been meaning to come back to this and reply, so apologies for the delay. But absolutely agree with your points, especially around using AI.
I think there are opportunities to bolster confidence and learning, through AI, and while traditional educational institutes are struggling to grasp how to manage AI in the event of plagiarism etc, students are still going to use it, just like when the internet became available - we used it as a tool to help us learn. There are always risks, but I think it's foolish to think that we can manage these wholly, but that again will become a process of learning on a delivery side, how to mitigate some of these risks and how these risks are also opportunities for self-learning.
But it also requires resourcing. Aside from the digital divide and access to internet, time is a huge factor in the lives of rangatahi and our communities. I've taught rangatahi in a creative tech course that already had their high school commitments, sports or extra curricula activities, social, family and church obligations. Adding something else to those schedules just increases the pressure on an already tight and demanding schedule, which is unfair and only sets them up to fail.
Not sure what the answer is, but am keen to explore.
Coming from 15+ years in tertiary education in creative tech, I've seen the digital divide and lack of digital literacy skills with rangatahi. But there’s another layer: the push to get more Māori and Pasifika rangatahi into tech, because of low representation in the industry. While I fundamentally support this idea, I don't when it is clear that this is not their passion - you've written a similar themed article about this before.
What frustrates me is I’ve seen first-hand how failing a tech-orientated tertiary programme can derail their plans for higher education in other fields. Not all rangatahi want to work in tech, but they still need the tools and skills to thrive in digital spaces.
I’ve seen some great community groups working outside traditional education frameworks to address this, and agree AI has huge potential, from an Indigenous lens.
Thanks for the insights!
Thanks for your response Bonnie!
it is quite the dilemma we have where there's a reality about technological literacy and proficiency that permeates any and every industry in some way and that our communities must find a way to address this that isn't forcing our rangatahi into tech when, as you say "...it is clear that this is not their passion".
I guess this is where the rise of AI is interesting to me, because it may be something we can tailor, by ourselves, or our use case, that can potentially deliver, what institutions and struggling community initiatives, have failed to in the past.
we can only but try.
I've been meaning to come back to this and reply, so apologies for the delay. But absolutely agree with your points, especially around using AI.
I think there are opportunities to bolster confidence and learning, through AI, and while traditional educational institutes are struggling to grasp how to manage AI in the event of plagiarism etc, students are still going to use it, just like when the internet became available - we used it as a tool to help us learn. There are always risks, but I think it's foolish to think that we can manage these wholly, but that again will become a process of learning on a delivery side, how to mitigate some of these risks and how these risks are also opportunities for self-learning.
But it also requires resourcing. Aside from the digital divide and access to internet, time is a huge factor in the lives of rangatahi and our communities. I've taught rangatahi in a creative tech course that already had their high school commitments, sports or extra curricula activities, social, family and church obligations. Adding something else to those schedules just increases the pressure on an already tight and demanding schedule, which is unfair and only sets them up to fail.
Not sure what the answer is, but am keen to explore.
Thank you for responding and your insights!