The  Future  of  Learning      Insights  from  Discussions  Building  on  an  Ini4al  Perspec4ve  by:    Tim  Gifford  |  Co-­‐Founder  |  ELTjam  

Context  The  ini4al  perspec4ve  on  the  Future  of  Learning  kicked  off  the    Future  Agenda  2.0  global  discussions  taking  place  through  2015.    

This  summary  builds  on  the  ini4al  view  and  is  updated  as  we  progress.  

Ini4al  Perspec4ves  Q4  2014  

Global  Discussions  Q1/2  2015  

Insight  Synthesis  Q3  2015  

Sharing    Output  Q4  2015  

Curated  Informa5on  Everything  you  will  need  to  know  will  be  available  online,  but  it  is  going    to  be  vital  that  there  is  a  way  of  filtering  and  cura4ng  this  overwhelming  wealth  of  informa4on  in  a  way  that  is  simple,  intui4ve  and  valuable.  

Standards  of  Learning  The  learning  that  takes  place  on  a  mobile  device  at  the  ins4ga4on  of  an  inquisi4ve  learner  needs  to  have  the  same  status  as  courses  delivered    in  the  tradi4onal  learning  environments  of  schools  and  universi4es.  

Replica5ng  Face-­‐5me  Can  virtual,  online  learning  replicate  the  powerfully  immersive    

interac4ons  that  form  the  basis  of  face-­‐to-­‐face  exchanges?  Learning  is  grounded  in  the  interplay  of  conversa4on,  experience  and  meaning.    

Knowing  Everything  Is  a  new  learning  skill  being  developed  as  a  result  of  the  immense  amount    of  informa4on  at  our  disposal?  Can  learners  locate,  extract  and  apply    

precisely  what  they  need,  precisely  when  they  need  it.    

Streaming  Learning  Learning  content  will  emulate  the  model  of  music/media  streaming:  A    

learner  will  be  able  to  engage  with  valuable  content  as  and  when  they  need    to  without  needing  to  subscribe  to  full  courses  or  a  full  set  of  materials.  

Paradigm  ShiCs  The  ancient  paradigm  of  a  teacher-­‐led  learning  approach  -­‐  rows  of  iden4cal  desks  or  chairs  facing  the  same  single  point  of  reference  at  the  front  of  the  room  -­‐  will  be  replaced  by  a  more  fluid,  collabora4ve  pedagogical  method.  

Collabora5ve  Networked  Learning  There  will  be  a  movement  away  from  a  top-­‐down,  broadcast  approach    

of  learning  to  a  hyper-­‐collabora4ve  global  network  consis4ng  of    learners,  ins4tu4ons  and  content  providers.  

Seman5c  Web  The  Seman4c  Web  will  present  data  in  terms  of  rela4onships  and  relevance.    

A  learner  can  engage  with  content  that  understands  what  they  are    looking  for  and  how  it  relates  to  and  impacts  other  topics.  

Personal  Learning  Networks  Educators  encourage  their  learners  to  source  informa4on  from  their  own  Personal  Learning  Networks  and  to  also  ac4vely  contribute  themselves  

to  requests  from  other  individuals  within  their  communi4es.  

Learning  From  The  Crowd  Embracing  adap4ve  learning  and  the  crowd-­‐sourced  learning  solu4ons    radically  changes  the  culture  surrounding  learning  and  promotes  the    shi\  from  a  top-­‐down  model  to  one  of  collabora4on  and  exchange.  

Deep  Distant  Interac5ons  Reliable,  ubiquitous  mobile  communica4ons  will  enable  deep  and    

effec4ve  geographically-­‐distant  interac4ons  where  the  online  experience    will  be  difficult  to  differen4ate  from  face-­‐to-­‐face  mee4ngs.  

Mo5va5on  to  Learn  The  need  to  learn  in  order  to  compete  in  the  global  workplace  will  lead  to  increasing  numbers  of  overseas  students  at  established  ins4tu4ons,  while  others  choose  integrated  learning  experiences  over  tradi4onal  academia.  

Breaking  Boundaries  The  acceptance  of  opera4ng  in  a  digital  world  may  result  in  substan4ve  shi\s  that  break  down  geographical,  genera4onal  and  cultural  boundaries.  But  this  could  poten4ally  build  new  e-­‐boundaries  –  perhaps  boundaries  of  access?  

Learning  to  be  Crea5ve  Gamifica4on  helps  the  learning  experience  shi\  from  a  focus  on  avoiding  failure  to  one  that  encourages  learning  from  mistakes,  recognises  different  

learning  styles  and  abili4es  and  embraces  problem  solving.    

Teacher-­‐less  Classrooms  If  we  have  driver-­‐less  cars  then  we  can  also  have  teacher-­‐less  classrooms:    

As  learning  comes  from  mul4ple  sources  beyond  the  school,  we  reinvent  the  learning  experience  around  project-­‐based  collabora4on  and  sharing.  

Ability  Benchmarks  If  c20th  learning  was  about  standardisa4on  of  levels  of  knowledge,  then    

the  c21st  is  focused  on  ability  and  insight.  In  a  world  of  MOOCS  and  knowledge  credits  from  mul4ple  plaaorms,  a  key  challenge  is  sebng  the  global  reference.  

Bridging  the  Digital  Divide  If  access  to  connec4vity  is  the  core  driver  of  change  for  educa4on  for  some,  what  about  those  on  the  other  side  of  the  digital  divide?  Many  focus  on    

off-­‐line  learning  evolving  and  suppor4ng  the  development  of  the  other  billion.    

Skilling  Rather  Than  Teaching  As  most  informa4on  is  available  on  the  net,  the  need  to  prepare  us  for  the  

increasingly  unstructured  nature  of  work  drives  schools  to  become  places  for  developing  core  skills  –  emo4onal  intelligence  /  leadership  /  cri4cal  thinking.    

The  Hybrid  Experience  Learning  increasingly  takes  place  via  a  combina4on  of  physical  spaces  and  

digital  classrooms  –  and  flows  seamlessly  across  both.  Students  use  different  parts  of  their  brain  as  learning  becomes  much  more  experien4al.  

Life  Lessons  There  is  rising  recogni4on  of  the  need  to  prepare  students  to  become    a  valuable  member  of  the  community  through  ‘teaching’  such  issues  

 as  empathy,  ethics,  handling  failure  and  managing  ambiguity.    

Learning  in  the  Context  of  21C  Challenges  Global  challenges  of  our  4me  will  increasingly  shape  the  development  of  curricula  in  terms  of  content  to  study  and  quali4es  to  develop;  including  

collabora4on,  cri4cal  thinking,  crea4vity,  entrepreneurship  and  ‘cope-­‐ability’.  

The  Dark  Side  of  Learning  Educa4on  ins4tu4ons  will  teach  people  differently  in  2025,    

embracing  the  ‘dark  side’  of  learning  from  failure,  uncomfortable    spaces,  personal  tragedy  and  the  ability  to  leave  the  past  behind.  

Personalised  Experien5al  Learning  Development  of  immersive  virtual  reality  and  sensors  provide  more  

experien4al  learning  and  instant  feedback  on  performance  and  learning  needs  in  ways  that  will  be  personalised  to  individual  preference,  style  and  experience.  

Rising  EU  Educa5on  Gap  We  will  see  increases  in  child  and  adult  illiteracy  across  Europe.  Without  clear  EU  direc4on,  member  countries  are  le\  to  their  own  devices  -­‐  A  lack  of  funding  and  focus  leads  to  a  rising  educa4on  gap  and  loss  of  global  compe44veness.  

Learning  for  Life  not  Exams  As  na4onal  learning  curricula  are  set  top-­‐down  by  a  narrow  set  of  

stakeholders,  with  a  focus  on  learning  for  exams  rather  than  preparing  us  for  life,  there  is  ligle  4me  or  space  for  experimenta4on  in  what,  or  how,  we  learn.  

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