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New technologies poised to change how, where and what tomorrow’s students learn
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PREPARING our students for a new world of innovation is a theme we cover consistently in The Global Search for Education series. We invited John Martin, CEO of Sanoma Learning, to share his vision for learning in the future.
Q: How will the school of the future be more globally inclusive?
A: Consider the world in 2050 where the number of under 15 year olds will be roughly as follows: 70 million in the USA, 90 million in South America, 110 million in Europe, 200 million in China, 300 million in India and 700 million in Sub-Saharan Africa.
There’s a real chance that more or less all schoolchildren everywhere will have access to mobile devices by 2050. Is there a more powerful instrument for reducing poverty and inequality, and laying the basis for sustained economic growth and sound governance than this?
Q: How will technology be integrated into the curriculum?
A: Through personalization, technology will help each individual pupil to achieve their best learning potential. And by automating work flows and giving insights, technology will super-charge the teacher as the killer app in education.
Q: What will be left of traditional craft work and writing?
A: Partly as a reaction to all things virtual, the “maker” culture will flourish, with pupils and teachers embracing learning-by-doing. Handwriting might become more or less out of fashion, except as an art form. But expression through words will be as essential as ever.
Q: Given the efficiency of the Internet and home learning, how much time will students be needed in school?
A: The institution of the school is an important but arguably somewhat weak intervention in the holistic development of our children — after all, in most Western countries, about 80 percent of their time is spent outside the school.
However, schools do offer scale benefits for learning, especially with regard to access to great teachers, learning resources, and to other pupils.
Not to forget the added economic benefit of enabling parents to participate in the workforce. In some ways I wonder if a better question might be how we could more effectively look holistically at the learning and welfare of each pupil, rather than how many hours they should go to school?
Q: How important will the presence of physical teachers be?
A: The teacher is the killer app in education. A great teacher is like a great coach who can help to unlock the potential of each child. Generally, I think it’s best to physically include a teacher in the journey of learning.
Q: Will we teach students specific “subjects” in traditional classrooms like we have today or will classes be more about hybrid learning?
A: It’s a personal view on the future, but I wonder if we will move in the direction of a “T-model” in the next generation.
In the vertical of the “T,” each child develops expertise on key “subjects,” but in a much more personalized way than at present — for example, also including adaptive and peer-to-peer learning.
And in the horizontal of the “T,” other skills such as collaboration, communication and leadership are learned, maybe in the form of “phenomenon-based learning” programs such as those recently introduced in Finland.
Q: Faced with increasing time spent on digital devices, how can we teach more practical skills, including coping with stress levels?
A: It was hard to develop “life skills” from a book and the same holds true with devices. The thing about skills is that they generally improve with practice, especially when supported by coaching.
So I think it’s a matter of prioritization: don’t over-do the screen time and make sure life skills are on the agenda.
C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the publisher of CMRubinWorld, and a Disruptor Foundation Fellow. Shanghai Daily edited and condensed the article.
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