Group items tagged

"We have always struggled to envision the future, often superimposing new technology over our current views. Though the creators of the Jetsons did not have the constraints of standardized tests, limited budgets, or even gravity, their schools closely resembled those of the 1960s -- which, in many ways, still look like those of today. The challenge of imagining the future of learning can seem daunting. However, snapshots already exist. We just need to look beyond our current classrooms to identify some of the key tenets for our learning environments of the future."

"The vision of a modern education built around personalized learning is not new, but it is definitely tantalizing. Neal Stephenson's novel The Diamond Age (Spectra, 1995) shares a vision of personalized learning in the future via an interactive book that possesses a conversational interface (CI) and "pseudo-intelligence," a kind of artificial intelligence (AI) that is inferior to human intelligence. It's likely that we'll see decent conversational interfaces within the next decade, and certainly applications like Google Voice are moving us much closer to this reality. AI that is capable of directing the learning needs of a human will take much longer, developing in the next 20-50 years, but we can't wait that long for the technology to catch up with education. The need for personalized learning exists in the here and now. So how does one bridge this vision of the future with the realities of the present?"

"A new Iowa Future video, "Iowa, Did You Know?," highlights the drastic changes occurring in Iowa and the world, and shows that schools are struggling to keep up in today's dynamic new global environment. The video premiered at this week's School Administrators of Iowa Conference. This fast-paced video emphasizes the magnitude of the challenges ahead, the need for Iowans to support the changes that schools must make if our learners are to be career, college, and citizenship ready, and the imperative to do this now, rather than later."

"The idea of students sitting in front of PCs learning how to use Word is as dead as the proverbial dead parrot. It is already an antiquated model of learning - like chalk or fountain pens with ink-wells; it has a whiff of the twentieth century about it, rather than preparing our students for the future. Whilst the DfE dithers about what they should do with technology (Mr Gove clearly wants to reboot the chalk and talk bygone age), schools are left with a rapidly changing world, where budgets are at a premium and ICT often stretches what budgets now allow. All the while, students are learning on their iPads, Android tablets and smart phones, writing more in texts and tweets daily than in their collective writing experience during the school week. We aren't harnessing this expertise, never mind guiding it to a place of higher learning!"

"WHILE education experts across Australia grapple with Gonski, high school graduates thinking of a career in teaching ought to think again - because in the future the traditional role may be gone-ski. Instead, tutoring is tipped to take on a very different form."

Our education system was perfectly designed...to prepare workers for routine jobs that no longer exist. As we try to out-drill and out-test Korea we are leaving millions of young adults ill-prepared, uninspired and lacking the skills they need to thrive in an innovation economy. After seeing this film, you'll never look at school the same way again.

"Published on 25 Sep 2013 Henry Sibley High School believes in educating students now for the digital realm of the future. This means being aware of the implications that today's online interaction can have down the road. This 15 minute video walks students through how to protect themselves online, and how to create and manage a positive digital footprint. Special Thanks to Azul 7, the University of Minnesota, and the Mendota Heights Police Department."

Education today thus faces several critical gaps: * Between the world that young people experience outside the classroom and the world within * Between the skills that students learn in school and those they will need later in life * Between those who have access to high-quality education and tools and those who do not It is increasingly an accepted truth that education systems must evolve to meet the needs of the students and societies they serve, changing their mission from knowledge transmission to preparation for future learning

Sir Ken Robinson and Joel Klein discuss the future of education in this video from The Economist. The permalink is http://ideas.economist.com/