Waks, L. (2013). John Dewey and the Challenge of Progressive Education. International Journal of Progressive Education, 9(1), 73-83. 

We can understand new educational trends in relation to the global network context by shying away from educational trends that do not serve the current global network. Waks states, “Conventional schools and the curriculum produce a specific sort of learning in which memory, classification, and routine verbal-logical problem solving plays a large role they foster ‘crystallized’ knowledge, not the ‘fluid’ knowledge needed by today’s users and knowledge workers.” Demonstrating new educational trends need to be fostered in a way progressive thinkers and educators will respond to. One of the biggest changes is the rise in technology Waks discusses, “High-tech interactive media and computer information systems in schools are thus increasingly necessary merely to bring schooling into line with their out-of-school experiences and expectations”. In order to meet educational trends in the context of the global network, school experiences and at home experiences should build off of each other. Learning from students is a great way to understand new educational trends as their experiences are going to be much different then the teachers.

We may build upon and direct new educational trends by challenging norms in education in order to make education equitable for everyone. Going against the past ways of learning and knowing to develop understandings to why education under the global network society needs to be progressive. The contemporary demographic is a much different demographic than the policy makers, so I think to build and direct educational trends through student representatives and student interns the adaptation is less drastic from what they were taught. Trendy ways of teaching and learning will be more natural and even more comfortable for them to assist in the direction of a contemporary lesson, while teaching the primary teacher. Even having the school board offer/ implement educational technology courses like the university offers to pre-service teachers around the province could be effective for the adaptation to the global network.