John XXIII College Newsletter

From the Principal

A changing educational landscape

Recently I have had the pleasure of meeting with Academics from several prominent Western Australian Universities. The meetings reinforced the changing nature of learning at tertiary level and I have found the discussions quite energising as our College commences the next phase of our Master Planning.

 

In schools we often talk about a ‘blended’ approach when combining traditional texts and more modern modes of technology. I was fascinated that one of the universities now allocates 98% of its library expenditure to online resources. The Vice Chancellor of another University indicated that they were not interested in spending money on new lecture theatres. Significant emphasis is being directed to ‘flipped classrooms’ where students meet in smaller spaces to engage in discussion and problem solving having previously accessed materials online. The traditional learning model is said to be ‘flipped’ upside down.

 

Of course, universities educate adults and schools are places of learning for younger people. However, an awareness of trends in the university sector can help guide our future planning. Pleasingly, the University staff have also been very interested in engaging with our staff on educational issues and the interaction has been mutually beneficial.

 

Trends in the workforce are equally pertinent. According to Deloitte, there will be a projected skills' shift in the workforce ahead: from hands to heads to hearts. The movement from manual labour (hands) to cognitive skills (head) appears relatively logical but increasingly future employees are likely to be strongly reliant on soft skills (heart). Interpersonal skills and creative roles with customer service and care for others will be highly valued. These components have always been important at our College and will continue to be reinforced in the years to come.

 

Robert Henderson

Principal

Cyber security information

Further to our notice in last Friday’s College newsletter, there have been recent articles in the media concerning the targeted cyber-attack against Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA).

 

John XXIII College, in conjunction with CEWA, has systems and measures in place to monitor and respond to cyber-security incidents and we will continue to work closely with cyber-security experts to mitigate and address any potential breaches. In the instance where a cyber-attack may occur, the College follows a stringent reporting process including notification to those who may be affected.

 

Potential incidents of this nature are a timely reminder that cyber-security is something that all members of our community should be aware of.

 

As cyber-security incidents become more sophisticated, it is important to be aware that they may take the form of emails from people you don’t know, may appear to be from a person you may know or may be sent via individual accounts. It is important to be vigilant and take notice of the language used, the type of email (blank email body, or including links or attachments), and what the domain or the link points to.

 

To best protect the security of your personal information, it is suggested that online passwords are regularly changed, that you carefully review the sender of emails and be cautious of links and attachments. You may also want to consider checking that the anti-virus and anti-malware software installed on your electronic devices is up to date.

 

If you believe you have been impacted, or have clicked on a link that may have compromised your device:

 

Install an Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware tool on any computers/devices you regularly use: Examples or such tools include:

Review your email account for misuse and signs of intrusions: This may include unusual forwarded emails, mail rules being created, unusual activity in your sent items mail folder.

 

Check for signs your account has been hacked:

  • You may find you can no longer log in to services as your password may have been changed.
  • Unusual inbox activity – for example, if you stop receiving email to your inbox, but can send emails without a problem
  • You are receiving unexpected emails that appear different to your usual junk mail
  • People you know advise you about unusual emails and random links
  • Your system is acting up - redirected internet searches, unexpected installs, rogue mouse pointer activity etc.

 

If you discover you have been impacted:

  • Make sure you can still log in and change your password immediately. You should follow the relevant process to reset your password and ensure it is complex and meets minimum security standards
  • If the same password is being used to log into other services/applications, change your passwords immediately
  • If required, contact your internet service provider (email/internet)
  • Check and register email addresses and/or credentials at https://haveibeenpwned.com. This will assist you in determining if your credentials have been reported as being breached in any cloud services (Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook etc)
  • Check sent items to see what emails have gone out and notify people if you are concerned that spam emails may have been sent to them from your account.