Marie Bountrogianni

Transcription

So now it's time to hear from the Dean of The Chang School of Continuing Education, Marie Bountrogianni. Marie... Thank you, Arlene. My talk is the shortest of all. So, I know you're probably tired of sitting, but I have to thank Arlene first, for being a great MC. Thank you, Arlene. Thank you very much. [Applause] And, our amazing array of speakers. Thank you so much. We're truly inspired by your brilliance, your heart, your work, and we will take it to heart. Thank you. [Applause] After all, Ryerson is a school of, yes, that well-used word, but we mean it here: innovation. After all we're the home of the DMZ – I was corrected today by someone. We should call it the D-M-"Zed" not the D-M-"Zee" – where you can obtain a degree and open your own business at the same time. It's a place where a student invented SoapBox, a platform one of the leaders of our political parties uses for his campaign. Is Valerie Fox here today? Wave if you are, or say "Hi" because I can't see anything with the lights. She's not? Okay. She is the director of the DMZ, and we've just recently opened two other DMZs in other parts of the world. If you say to yourself, "Why are you spending money in other parts of the world?" Some of the products of our students are being now adopted by multi-billionaire companies like Tata in India, so, really giving our students amazing edge. And I'm very proud to be at The Chang School where it's a place where adult learners have a second chance. They can complement their education with their skills. It's also a second chance at prosperity. Many of our students are immigrants or children of immigrants who, through no fault of their own, did not have the chance to gain the skills they needed to fulfill their potential. We have that chance now. About a year ago a young man came. He did two tours in Afghanistan. He came in, he was wounded, he came up to the desk of The Chang School, he said "It's been a long time since I've been at school. I've never been to university. I'm wounded. I just came back from Afghanistan. Is it too late for me?" It's never too late. That is our message. That should be all of our message for our students. And at The Chang School, through blended and online learning methods, we aim to adapt to all students' schedules. Whether they are mal-employed young adults whose hard-earned degrees don't match up in the current job market or a single parent who never had the time to chase their dreams. This is their chance. It's never too late. How many have 20-something kids in the audience? I have two of them. They're cobbling together careers, right? It's not an easy time, but it's also an exciting time. And continuing education is the chance for a better life, we all know that. I know that from my family. I had the good fortune of being born in this great country, but my parents came in 1954, and like most immigrants, particularly in those days, they arrived with nothing. But they worked hard and they did very well. But when my mother obtained her early childhood education diploma through continuing education, financially, our lives changed almost overnight. Two incomes. She opened her own licensed child care centre, and 11-year-old me was elated to move into a new home with my own room. She was an excellent role model for us, and a significant contributor to jobs and therefore to the economy. Win-win-win. Continuing education changes lives, but it's not the 1950s anymore. With today's cost of living, many people can't afford to take time off from work to study. Even commuting after work every day is difficult for some. I mean, have you seen the traffic lately in Toronto? It's just not realistic. So at The Chang School, we have addressed this issue creatively through new innovations in online and blended learning, and by listening to our students, hearing their warranted concerns in their rapidly changing world. And believe me, our students are not shy in emailing me with their complaints and their concerns. They don't only want relevant employable skills from their schools, but they want them taught in a fast, comprehensive, and effective way. They're busy. They are leading just-in-time lives. So, an example: this spring, our one-year data analytics certificate – one of the most in-demand fields right now – will be offered as a three-month intensive program. And we will be putting it online, because many students want it online so that they can continue working during the day. Efficient, employable, effective. Many students, especially those with families, don't have time for in-class education even when it's part-time. So it's important that we make online education available, interactive, and effective as possible. We certainly learned a great deal today on how to possibly think about doing that. I'll repeat, continuing education changes lives. But we need to listen. Our adult learners have a lot of experience, but having said that, we should listen to the young learners, too. I loved your kids. They are beautiful. My two are as different as can be. And whose child...was it yours that got kicked out of kindergarten? Yours? Oh your boss. Okay. [Laughter] Well, my son was kicked out of daycare, and it was his grandmother's daycare so that was embarrassing. That same kid, when he was taking an actuarial online course, because he couldn't get a job after a math degree so he took actuarials online, I said to him, "Hey, why don't you take a course in a school? Don't you miss interacting with people in a classroom?" He rolled his eyes at me, called me a dinosaur, and showed me his computer screen. And said, "I'm interacting with people, Mom. I'm interacting with people from all over the world." Out of the mouths of babes. How people learn is changing. How they obtain their skills is changing. We need to acknowledge that the ground is shifting beneath our feet. Ten years ago a precocious 15-year-old named David Karp told his mom that he is dropping out of high school because it doesn't give him enough time to blog. If one of my kids said that to me when they were in high school I would probably have a nervous breakdown. Now, David Karp proceeded to take online classes, math tutoring, and workshops encoding. Six years later, he launched tumblr.com, a billion-dollar platform. So as you can see, traditional in-class learning is not for everyone. Now am I saying that everything should involve technology? No. A Kobo reader may be practical – I have one, especially for travelling – but there's nothing like that tactile feeling of a book in your hands. It's the human brain that gives birth to great ideas, not machines. But, technology can be the equalizer. Technology can accelerate ideas and make education accessible and functional for all. This year we will be working with a philanthropic organization to provide high school students in South Africa with technology skills. This will prepare them for online studies at universities, including at The Chang School, when they graduate. Available certificates are fully online here in disaster relief management, food security, cyber security, and much, much more. This is social innovation at work internationally. This is making education functional for all. Jeremy Friedberg gave a speech earlier today about gamification. I remember decades ago when I was in private practice in Toronto as a psychologist. I worked with children with learning disabilities. I had an Apple IIc. Remember those, and the floppy disks? Young people won't know what I'm talking about. They were floppy disks with games and the children learned. They had fun. They loved it. At The Chang School over 80 percent of our instructors work in the field they teach, so students are learning from people who are with clients every day. We had the vice president of an Oscar-nominated production company teach a course on the film industry. We have the owner of two popular bars teaching business marketing. That's a fun course. And currently The Chang School has a very successful executive from BlackBerry teaching a data science class. They teach because they want to. Students want this quality. They want this commitment. They want this functionality. They want their transition from school to work to be seamless. They want to be confident. I've changed careers many times. I've been a barista, a psychologist, a business executive, a politician – so don't hate me, please – and now a dean. Not exactly a linear career path. Some might say I can't keep a job, but being in a perpetual novice state, I have the huge benefit of being free from the constraints of past practices. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for past practices, but only if they are proven best practices. More often than not, we - everywhere, but particularly in education – become prisoners of former conventions that may have outdated the needs of those we are meant to serve. We all fall into that trap, but the secret to successful change lies in tackling foreign territory with a fresh perspective. I cringe when I hear the phrase, "Marie, we've always done it this way." Best to clear the room when someone dares say that to me. Sometimes the digital world seems like a source of distraction. We are all aware of the time holes we fall into, and I have, when we're perusing YouTube or Facebook or, like my kids, reddit. But as that wonderful young speaker said earlier today, we should view the digital age as an opportunity to reach and prepare students, all students, like never before. I'm so thrilled to be speaking here amongst these amazingly innovative speakers and thinkers that are dedicated to enhancing digital learning. I'm proud to be part of this inaugural ChangSchoolTalks event. I can't see because of the lights but I know that the Director of Digital Education Strategies at The Chang School, Naza Djafarova, is here. Naza, can you stand up, say hello? She is the brainchild of this event. [Applause] Naza brings in revenue that pays for our pensions here at Ryerson. We have 20,000 online registrations. Naza, you're amazing and you never quit. It's what I love about you. You're welcome! Spasiba! And her team is amazing. I have left many times, early evening, and they're still there. I said to them "Goodnight!" and "Oh no, not for us, Marie. Not for us." Proceeds from today's event will go to Spanning the Gaps. This is a program that creates a pathway to secondary education for high school youth and adults who otherwise may not experience it. So that's where your ticket money is going to, is for scholarships for those students. These are students... Yay! [Applause] Many of them didn't finish high school but they come through the Spanning the Gaps program, they get credits, and if they pass, and they pass a program specifically, there are a lot of wrap-around services that help them do that, they are guaranteed a spot at Ryerson University. We had our first cohorts a couple years ago finish degrees. We have one in law school now, one in medical school, one doing a Master's in Social Work. And the lawyer? He dropped out in grade 9. It's never too late, never. This program is so important. It doesn't only change lives,; it saves lives. So, on behalf of The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University, I thank you all for attending the first ever ChangSchoolTalks event. Naza, I hate to tell you this because I know how hard you worked: we're going to do it again. [Applause]