jeffcaldwell.ca

Education moving forward

2025-09-05T00:00:00+00:00

We’re at a turning point in education. For decades, schools have followed a model built around lectures, homework, and standardized testing. But today and moving forward, kids have something past generations didn’t. Powerful tools, accessible resources, and technology that lets them learn in the way that works best… for them.

Every child learns differently, I think even before “learning styles” were a thing we all knew. Some absorb information best by listening, others by reading, and many by doing. Increasingly, I’ve seen kids and adults alike thrive when they can watch recordings of lessons. Pausing, rewinding, or replaying until the concept clicks. How many times have you rewatched that video on how to unclog your drain? Three? Five? But you got it unclogged right?

Giving them access to multiple types of resources—videos, interactive software, calculators, or even AI tools opens doors for all kinds of learners. The tools alone aren’t enough though, of course. Students still need structure. A clear curriculum that outlines what they need to learn each day, week, and semester gives direction and purpose. The difference is that instead of forcing everyone to learn the same way, we provide multiple paths to the same knowledge.

Traditional education says class time is for lectures, and homework is where students practice. What if we flipped that? Imagine homework being the actual learning. Teachers will still be there teaching, sharing their knowledge, and all the million other things they do as part of their not-paid-well-enough jobs but it removes the weighted reliance on the “lesson” being the facilitator of learning. Students can then spend time watching videos, reading, experimenting with software, or using AI to guide exploration . Then, in class, students shift to hands-on application.

Class time becomes a workshop, not a lecture hall. Teachers act less like graders and more like mentors. They guide small groups, answer questions, and provide practical exercises where students “show their work.” Worksheets and problem sets don’t become obsolete—they’re just framed as a way for students to demonstrate understanding without relying on AI or tools to think for them.

For years students were told, “You won’t always have a calculator in your pocket.” But guess what? Now we do, along with access to the world’s accumulation of knowledge and much more. Phones, calculators, and AI are part of daily life. Pretending otherwise doesn’t prepare students for the real world. Instead, education should teach students how to use tools responsibly and how to source those tools or information from authentic, validated sources.

An analogy I use with my students is: Yes, you can use AI to explain how a nuclear reactor works, and it will produce detailed, scientific-sounding instructions. But do you know it’s correct? Can you validate it? Can you explain it in your own words or check the math behind it? That’s the difference between outsourcing your thinking and accelerating it.

The goal isn’t to ban tools but to teach students:

Use tools to speed up your work, don’t use tools to do your work.
Always know how to verify the results yourself.

In my humble opinion, the future of learning blends structure with flexibility, technology with mentorship, and independence with collaboration. Students get clear roadmaps of what they need to learn but also the freedom to choose how they learn it. Teachers transform into guides who nurture curiosity and problem-solving, not just graders of assignments.

By embracing this approach, we’re not just teaching kids facts and skills… we’re teaching them how to think critically, adapt to new tools, and validate information in a world overflowing with it.

That’s the real preparation for the future.

Hack The Planet

2020-08-21T00:00:00+00:00

Not a single piece of media I have consumed in my life has had such an impact, a ripple effect, on my future trajectory than the movie Hackers.

Featuring a much less well-known Angelina Jolie, Johnny Lee Miller, and Matthew Lillard, it was by all accounts a critical failure earning only 8.5m on a 60m budget.

I have lost count of the number of times I have watched this movie, sometimes on repeat for days while coding in the background. Last time I had a rough idea, it was well over 800 and that was around when Peyton was born.

I was nine or ten when it came out, and I already had shown some interest in figuring out how things work but this 1995 movie solidified huge aspects of my future and still does to this day.

I could probably quote the entire movie off the top of my head, line by line… as a few named individuals can attest to (and join in on).

Hack the planet.

Experiences with my daughter

2015-05-03T00:00:00+00:00

(Note: This was originally written as part of an interview essay for a job application)

As part of the recruitment process we’re supposed to write a blog post on a topic that we are passionate about; as I thought about what I was going to write about I had an idea…

I have the pleasure of getting to re-experience everything I am passionate about thanks to my daughter, Peyton. Not only do I get to read, watch, or play any number of books, movies and video games that I grew up with and loved; I get to watch someone experience all of these things with the innocent, inexperienced eyes of a child. Someone who is essentially a part of me, and has begun her life already watching her father enjoy these hobbies.

The endlessly relatable humour of John Hughes movies, the adventure of Steven Spielberg’s stories, Lucas sci-fi epics… I can remember the first time seeing that T-Rex in Jurassic Park and hearing its deafening roar or the first time seeing the Millennium Falcon streak across the screen.

The first epic quest experience that is the Legend of Zelda, or saving humanity and the universe as the Master Chief in Halo. Parkouring through history in Assassin’s Creed and learning to utilize mana properly in the worlds of Final Fantasy.

Reading about the world of magic and wizards and how to properly choose your wand in Harry Potter or the intricacies of the High Elven language in J.R.R Tolkien’s saga.

All of these experiences, parts of my childhood growing up, are things I can introduce to my daughter. I think the best part of all of this is not just being able to experience them for myself all over again but being able to watch Peyton as she gets the experiences for the first time.

The look of wonder in her eyes when she sees Optimus Prime transform and roll out with the rest of the Autobots; The twinkle in her eyes when ET rides a bike off into the night sky as she imagines all of the amazing adventures she can have in life.

That is what I am passionate about, my daughter, and helping her experience life in all its wonders… real and imaginary.