Dear Colleagues,
I have taken a broad and ambitious approach to Assignment 3, briefly outlined in the paragraphs below. I’m not sure how realistic it is to attempt something of this magnitude, so would greatly value your input to perhaps help narrow my focus. I could concentrate on the use of one single platform to manage data, for example.
Thanks so much,
Alisha
Consolidation and Partnership: The Intersection of Education, Health, and Children & Family Development
Progress on initial stages of a structural overhaul for education, health, and children and families in British Columbia will be well underway by 2030. A new model of education will be embedded within a collaborative framework that reconfigures the currently siloed ministerial model into a consolidated Integrated Resource structure, wherein Ministries of Children and Families, Health, and Education combine resources to offer new, campus-style community resource campuses. These campus centres, to be piloted starting in 2035, will be located strategically in similar geographic locations as high schools with additional satellite learning centres in large, densely populated regions. Each campus will offer an administrative centre, wellness centre, recreation facilities, and education centres for various age groups, from pre-K to adult. The administrative centres will serve as the neural pivot point for program planning and ongoing management.
The acronym IRP makes a comeback in this model in the form of Integrated Resource Plans. Each family unit and individual will be supported in creating and managing an IRP that includes personalized global wellness and education plans. This data will be hosted in an interactive platform, accessible through unique user interfaces for stakeholders including the subject(s) of each plan, plus administrators and service providers at various levels in the branches of the resource campuses. Primacy will be given to the subject(s) of the IRPs, with personal control over program selections and bookings, plus communication to facilitate strong partnership with service providers, all integrated within the Integrated Resource platform.
Alisha,
This is such a cool idea, and I will be heading to BC for 2030 when this becomes a reality!
I like the idea of bringing the various ministries together to combine forces and provide services for children and families across various areas, thus reducing the bureaucratic nightmares that occur when cross-ministry services are needed. An example that comes immediately to mind is when education needs to access services generally provided by healthcare such as mental health supports for students and families. At the beginning of your post you mentioned concentrating on a single platform for data management, and that’s a great idea! When I think about students who are transferring from one district to another, even within a relatively small geographic area, the process and timeline for sending and receiving student records and data seems to be almost stone-age. It would be interesting to explore how the different ministries could come together and manage the information of citizens in order to provide relevant, timely, and effective services for individuals and family units.
I look forward to seeing the results of your explorations!
Amber
Thank you so much, Amber!
It’s a bit grandiose, but I think that if I zoom-in on just one of the aspects, I should be able to dig deep and do it justice.
~Alisha
Hi Amber – this is a great start and you’re asking the right question.
Your first paragraph provides a helpful background. Such a future sounds exciting, but it may be worthwhile to tell the reader (in a couple of sentences) why this new model of education came about (i.e. what problems is it solving or what new opportunities it aims to provide). This doesn’t need to be long.
The issue of focus though is the most important part here. Your first paragraph is focusing on campus and location. You’re honing in on the physical organization of the new system. Your second paragraph transitions into something much smaller – the IRPs. And your comment prior to the narrative goes more granular: “use of one single platform to manage data.” Also note how there are actually two elements to this last piece. The single platform and data management. In short, you have four ideas that you’re working here here – and that’s too many.
Focusing on any one of these ideas would work for assignment #3. If you focus on the campus, it may be worthwhile reflecting on how “technology” intersects with the ideas that you’re exploring. Alternatively, if you focus on the IRPs, the platform, or data management, a revised version of what is now paragraph #1 could work as an introduction to the new system. You may or you may not need to describe the physical campus in your essay (e.g., do i really need to know that campuses are strategically located to explore IRPs or data management? Perhaps I don’t. Or perhaps I do if physical location has implications for data management that you want to explore).
I hope this is helpful!
Thank you so much, George!
This is a huge help, as I knew that my scope was too broad, but struggled with how to narrow it. I think that if I provide just the very high-level overview of the big picture for context and trim any superfluous information such as the location details, then I can zoom-in on the specific use of technology at the mid-level to manage the IRP and communication, as my expertise is more at the user-level. I may briefly touch on the safety measures required for access to and storage of information as a consideration.
What a fun assignment – thanks again!
~Alisha
Hi Alisha,
This is a fascinating concept, and I must admit I am triggered by it! While you and Amber work in education I can surely see how this concept would be one that could be perceived as efficient, and maybe even in the best interest of the learners and community! However on the other hand I always wonder if more government intervention equals better… Where information is shared collectively there must also be collective guidelines, and as you know, rules don’t always work because of individual circumstance and the inability to bend them in a system applied en masse
This is proving to be an interesting assignment because I am sure we will discover that an “ideal” future for one industry or perspective is akin to a “hellscape” for another!
I’d love the opportunity to read your paper when you are done!
Paula!
Hi Paula,
Thanks so much! I am leaning into the idea of intuitive user interfaces at each level of the “one app to rule them all!” Your comments regarding over-simplification or -generalization are weise. Data-veillance is also in my peripheral vision, as is Weller’s sage perspective on benevolent amnesia and digital panacea.
So intriguing!
~Alisha