Torch - 2021 Edition

HC-X

For HC-X, Digital Wisdom Is Just the Beginning By Adam Caplan and Garth Nichols

H C-X is the innovation hub at Havergal College, with the strategic mandate to develop future-ready curriculums, pedagogies and professional learning. It leads the agile development of learning for students, educators and emerging programs. The approach is rooted in research from within Havergal, through our Faculty and students, from the broader education sector as well as global organizations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the DQ Institute (DQI). The innovative learning experiences out of HC-X prioritize co-construction with students and their teachers and are designed to move students toward the North Star of our Portrait of a Grad.

A Grade 7 student in Havergal's DQ course depicts what digital wisdom means to them in this illustration.

Much more than a technology skills course, Digital Wisdom focuses on setting up students to navigate and participate meaningfully in Digital Culture. In addition to the DQ outcomes, wellbeing and DEI are built into the fabric of the course itself. Through this learning, Havergal students experience the links between their identity and values and how they interpret and navigate the world as they examine how to use technology effectively through the frame of cultural understanding and wellbeing. The OECD and other world organizations identified the need for schools to be directly addressing digital futures, like artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). This validates our future-ready approach and our Portrait of a Grad, because the future requires highly evolved interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, supplemented by expert digital skills. The WEF (2020) updated the Top 10 Job Skills of 2025 to highlight the importance of both Technology Design and Programming, along with Leadership and Social Influence (see facing page). To support the development of these skills and mindsets, HC-X is creating two exciting partnerships. The first partnership is with Ametros Learning, an AI company we are working with to develop a scenario-based learning initiative that will engage students in learning about and practising how to navigate relationships in the digital world. The second partnership is with InStageVR, a VR company we are leveraging as an immersive virtual platform developing

Havergal’s Portrait of a Grad

• Globally Minded • Self-Directed, Lifelong Learner • Works with Flexibility and Adaptability

• Future Ready • Inspired to Action • Leans into Empathy • Leads with Integrity • Digital Navigator

One of our first main projects in HC-X has been the design and delivery of Havergal’s Digital Wisdom (DQ) course. It is taught in Grades 5, 6, 7 and 8 through intensive blocks, allowing students to deep-dive into the content, the skills and strategies. Students learn to effectively navigate relationships, identity and learning in digital spaces. It has integrated within it student co-creation, wellbeing and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) learning. For example, students studied the author and artist of “The Poet of Code” to understand the role that algorithms play in their personal navigation of search engines. DQ has been very well received by students and parents alike. HC-X is working with the University of Toronto to conduct program evaluation to provide insights and feedback on the course development. As well, we can look with confidence to positive feedback from our students in Grades 5 to 8 to know we are headed in the right direction.

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