Digitalization is changing society
Today, there are hardly any industries that have not been affected by digitization. It has just affected other sectors more than others. Digitalization is about a broad change in mindset, not just about everything related to digital devices. Digitization among other things makes it easier in many functions, guarantees the availability of services and speeds up getting them and diversifies the offer. Digitalization also increases equality and cost efficiency.
Digitization in basic education
In my current area of expertise, in the field of education, digitalization can be seen in many ways in basic education. Students of almost all grade levels already have personal iPads to support their studies and use them a lot. They are used to search for information, use electronic learning materials and different learning platforms, create presentations, do group work, and so on. Teachers can use and use electronic teaching materials on their laptops, manage communication between school and home, organize remote teaching with remote connections and do student evaluations. Our school also has smart boards in every learning environment and document cameras, the connection of which to a computer facilitates and streamlines the use of teaching materials and for example the Internet. The versatile use of digitization is already self-evident for the students at our school, although this is not necessarily the case in all schools in Finland yet. Today, digital technology is already strongly involved in everyday school life, and in the future I see its use increasing in schools, especially in those where it has not yet taken root to a large extent.
Digitization in working life
In the society of the future, digitization will continue at an accelerating speed as the amount of information increases and technology develops. The development of robotics, artificial intelligence, analytics and wellness technology will become part of everyday working life and they will create completely new scenarios and opportunities for the future. The results collected with the help of analytics will inevitably change job descriptions and services. It is possible for working life and competitiveness to develop even better with the development of technology, and the possibilities brought by digitalization are almost limitless. Work efficiency and productivity improve when part of the services can be produced by machines and equipment. However, the ability to change, resilience is needed in working life so that the working population remains competent and able to work in the midst of digitalization change.
Digitization is a good ring but a bad master
However, digitalization must not be an absolute value, but e.g. services must always be developed in a need- and customer-oriented manner, taking into account ethical aspects and the realization of inclusion. As digitalization develops, environmental factors must also be taken into account, investment must be made in sustainable development and ensuring equality. Everyone must have access to the services, and teaching how to use them is also society’s responsibility. You must also remember to pay attention to issues of responsibility and information security, and you must not forget a critical attitude and preparedness for threats. Even in the digital society there are risks and even in the machine world mistakes can happen. The data protection reform that entered into force in 2016 and the introduction of the new GDPR affected data security matters in such a way that nowadays every organization that processes personal data must have a responsible person who must know exactly how the personal data register is processed and where the data is stored.
In the school world, the organizer of education must carefully plan the processing of students’ personal data in advance. The school is only allowed to collect such information about students and their parents, the necessity of which can be justified in terms of organizing the students’ education. Unnecessary information may not be processed even with the consent of individuals. In addition, the processing of data must be well justified in terms of the school’s operations. There are also detailed instructions on deleting unnecessary data. A good thing about the reform is the increase in personal protection. I consider the downside to be that the reform makes it difficult for multi-professional cooperation, which should be fast and smooth in schools. For example, the teacher/classroom supervisor should be able to discuss issues of concern with the health nurse, school curator and school psychologist on a student-by-student basis so that the student receives the best possible support without fear of personal data being compromised.
Self-assessment
I have already become familiar with digitization in the course Digital solutions in social and health care, so the subject area is partly familiar to me and I can use what I have learned in this course. For me, data protection issues are the area I would like more information on if I had to work on it in the future. Everyone needs to know data protection issues even better in the future, when the amount of data moving electronically is large and information is available to almost everyone in a widely digitized society.