Magazine 2019

6 I am very passionate about what we do at Parklands College and I can honestly say that our school is unique. Not only do we offer an academic curriculum where learners can explore subjects that they may want to pursue at a tertiary in- stitution one day, we also provide authentic learning opportunities through challenge and project based learning programmes where our learners create actual products for a glob- al audience. Our vision is to provide excellence in educa- tion and best prepare our learners for their futures through the development of global competencies and future skills. We do this by focussing on innovation in education while in- tegrating the Parklands Mind and technology into learning and teaching. Everyone is talking about the The Fourth In- dustrial Revolution and that we need to make sure that our children are prepared for it. So let us take a look at what the Fourth Industrial Revolution is… • The First Industrial Revolution used steam power to mechanize production • The Second Industrial Revolution used electric power for mass production. • The Third Industrial Revolution used electronics and information technology to automate production • The Fourth Industrial Revolution consists of a range of technologies that connect the physical, bio- logical and digital spheres called cyber-physical systems. A wonderful example of a cyber-physical sysA wonderful example of a cyber-physical system, that was very recently in the news, is a para- lysed man who has received a chip implant in his brain that allows him to control a robotic suit and walk around a room, using the power of his mind. The paralysed man represents the biological sphere, the robotic suit the physical sphere and the software in the suit commu- nicating with a chip that has been connected to his brain is the digital sphere. It is therefore very obvious that this era is going to have a huge impact on humanity and society. We have been giving our learners learning platforms to explore Fourth Industrial Revo- lution technologies such as Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, 3D Printing and Virtual Reality for many years now. Our Grade 3 learners took part in the Junior First Lego League (JnrFLL) in June this year where they designed automated Moon bas- es as part of the “Mission Moon” challenge where they won multiple awards. The 4th Industrial Revolution and what it looks like... INNOVATION IN LEARNING