One Look at the Future of Learning

In an interesting new infographic, KnowledgeWorks articulates its view of the future of learning and provides a provocative vision of the ways in which learning might evolve.

Titled A Glimpse into the Future of Learning, it suggests twelve areas of change that will impact education. We'd like to emphasize a few of those that we see as both important and imminent.

• “School” will take many forms. Sometimes it will be self-organized.

           ◦Mobility is a recurring theme in this infographic. This is just one way in which it manifests itself. The idea of “self-organization” is a rich area for further thought as learners become more self-directed.

• Learning will not be defined by time and place – unless a learner wants to learn in a particular time and place.

           ◦Again, this reinforces that mobility is a significant trend, and we agree that the learning environment will increasingly be determined by the learner. Courses and the learning platform must accommodate that user-driven expectation and experience.

• Radical personalization will become the norm.

           ◦The power of online learning is largely a function of its ability to personalize learning, which in turn makes learning more effective. We like that term, “radical personalization.” And we're supporting that concept in our course design and our assessments.

• A wide variety of digital networks, platforms, and content resources will help learners and learning agents connect and learn.

           ◦More and more, we will leverage learning resources and platform interoperability to create a compellingly effective learning experience for students. And we will continue to develop tools that enable teachers to provide a learning environment that is effective for their students.

What does the future of learning look like to you? What should it look like? And how will technology drive innovations that result in improved student achievement?