Geoff Johnson, Times Colonist Journalist Profile

Articles

More Than Marketing: Cooperative CUSOs Have Been Supporting Credit Unions for Decades

2 weeks ago | cusomag.com | Geoff Johnson

As technology propels forward at breakneck speeds, credit unions often feel an overwhelming pressure to invest in new technologies to keep on par with the competition and ensure relevance and success in today’s market. However, such technology comes with a hefty price tag, not to mention the vendor due diligence and regulatory compliance that accompany these products, that smaller institutions simply do not have the means to infuse money into.
Joaquin Niemann’s Flawless Sunday Leads to LIV Golf Glory

Feb 16, 2025 | gcmag.com.au | Geoff Johnson

Joaquin Niemann staged an impressive final-round performance to capture the LIV Golf Adelaide individual title, while Fireballs GC celebrated their dominance in the team competition. Starting Sunday three shots behind the leader, Niemann delivered a flawless bogey-free 7-under 65, securing a three-stroke victory over Fireballs GC’s Abraham Ancer and his own Torque GC teammate Carlos Ortiz.
Geoff Johnson: Parents the simplest way to protect kids from online danger

Dec 7, 2024 | timescolonist.com | Geoff Johnson

Last month, Australia passed into law a social-media ban for those under 16, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech, which, until now, had no reason to limit access to social-media platforms. The Social Media Minimum Age bill sets Australia up as a test case for Western governments concerned about the mental-health impact of social media on young people.
Geoff Johnson: New minister promises breath of fresh air for Education Ministry

Nov 30, 2024 | timescolonist.com | Geoff Johnson

The B.C. minister of Education’s portfolio is a whopper, with a budget of $9.6 billion projected for the 2024/25 school year. At last count, there were 1,586 active public schools and 364 active independent schools in B.C., with 577,024 students in public schools and 86,201 in independent schools. Independent schools receive ministry funding and are accountable to the ministry for the delivery of the B.C. curriculum.
Geoff Johnson: Lack of guidelines leaves teachers wondering how to deal with AI in the classroom

Nov 24, 2024 | timescolonist.com | Geoff Johnson

Chat GPT, which gives free public access to AI technology, was released in November 2022. In the short time since, AI has increasingly become a factor in provision of education programs at all levels. The AI learning curve is steep and without guardrails for all involved — and there is no reliable map. Some individual teachers may be using AI as a timesaver for scheduling, developing general and personalized lesson plans and even report-card tracking.
Geoff Johnson: Trump victory underlines need for students to learn critical-thinking skills

Nov 16, 2024 | timescolonist.com | Geoff Johnson

The U.S. election result will come as no surprise to those who have followed the key themes of history. When the real or imagined gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” becomes too great, there will always be those in pursuit of power who are ready to point fingers at who and what the “have nots” can blame for their situation. In our modern information-flooded world, that gap can also include “thinkers” versus “non-thinkers,” but we’ll get to that distinction in a moment.
Geoff Johnson: Business admin, computer science among top options for post-secondary courses

Sep 22, 2024 | timescolonist.com | Geoff Johnson

The panorama of post-secondary education opportunities in Canada reflects the changing needs of both the global economy and local priorities. High school grads still considering their career options should bear in mind research that suggests that Canadians may hold about 15 jobs and more than one career in a lifetime.
Geoff Johnson: Educators need to begin planning for coming population bump

Sep 15, 2024 | timescolonist.com | Geoff Johnson

A new BC Stats report — Sustaining Growth: Population and Demography for B.C. and Canada — says British Columbia’s population is projected to reach 7.9 million by 2046, up 44% from 2023. A population bump of 2.4 million in 22 years in B.C. will almost certainly include some kind of serious increase in the K-12 population.
Geoff Johnson: Emotion has a big impact on learning

Sep 8, 2024 | timescolonist.com | Geoff Johnson

It is easy to think of the learning process as some kind of austere intellectual exercise. Not so, says a multi-authored piece entitled “The Influences of Emotion on Learning and Memory” published in the online Frontiers of Psychology. In fact, the researchers quoted in the article suggest that emotion has a substantial influence on cognitive processes in humans, including perception, attention, learning, memory, reasoning and problem solving.
Geoff Johnson: Is public education able to adapt to change?

Sep 1, 2024 | timescolonist.com | Geoff Johnson

Charles Darwin is reputed to have said that: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” There are numerous examples of successful organizations that, as victims of their own success, were too slow to adapt to changes in their environment and were left in the dust of changes demanded by the 21st century.