Shadowbox.init();

I recently watched, and re-watched, this video on Digital Learning Futures featuring Steve Wheeler (@timbuckteeth).

Digital learning futures Steve Wheeler, Associate Professor of Learning Technology, Plymouth University Click to play now

While there is nothing earth-shatteringly new here, I really like how he succinctly summarizes many of the areas of growth that have been, and still are, happening in the world. I felt the need to reflect and respond to it in order to organise my thoughts about the points he raised. So I thought I’d share. My humble opinions only… no formal research!

1. “Change is not constant. It is exponential.” True. There is no way we can keep up with every single technological advance in the 21st Century. As soon as a new phone, tablet or laptop hits the market it is out of date. New apps are being created every day. New tools emerge before the dust has settled on the previous version.

2. We are becoming tribes. Mr. Wheeler talks of how we are members of different tribes, for example the Facebook tribe, Flickr tribe, and how we use a different personality for each tribe and create different online identities. I could certainly relate to this; the way I operate online is completely different on Facebook compared to Twitter or Flickr.

3. There is an increase in user generated content. I think this is one of the most important changes. Thanks to the wealth of tools available, regular Joes are becoming movie makers, composers and photographers. You and I can write, as I am doing in this post, and be published immediately online. For free. We must now view our students not just as content consumers but also as content creators. Indeed, Mr. Wheeler stresses that this is something that we need to pay attention to and goes so far as to say that “if we ignore it we will miss a huge potential to transform learning in the future”.

4. Ubiquitous connection. Connections are now more meaningful, immediate and real. Social learning can continue to expand and develop. We cannot stop it and we shouldn’t try. I think we need to find ways to harness the power of social media in a way that can enhance our students’ learning. It is not going away.

5. Need for creative thinking. This is definitely becoming more and more prominent in everything I read. I think some people get confused by the word ‘creative’ and take it to mean that you have to be artistically talented in some way. I see it as being more of a problem solver and being able to come up with new ideas in order to solve problems.

6. Continuum of engagement. Working through the stages of knowledge, wisdom and transformation. Moving on from knowing THAT, to knowing HOW, to knowing WHY. Developing critical thinking skills that enable use to analyse and evaluate information (Bloom’s Taxonomy).

7. Gamification. Not yet a word in the Oxford English dictionary, but I’m sure it won’t be long before it is. The role of games in learning is bound to increase. My fear is that once the taboo has lifted and it is deemed ‘OK’ to use games in school, there is a danger that the less ‘dedicated’ teachers (you know the ones I mean!) will abuse the system and the educational value will drop.

8. Twitter and social media rule! (They’re my words, not his!) Twitter, Facebook, Blogger and WordPress. Four incredibly powerful platforms for both students and teachers. We are all learners first and foremost. Loved Mr. Wheeler’s description of Twitter as a library, a street corner, a soapbox and a means of amplification. I still don’t understand why some teachers don’t ‘get’ Twitter!

9. Convergence – technology is creeping into everything. Fridges, cars, cows! Appliances are converging – e.g. phones are now cameras and video cameras… Mr. Wheeler suggested that a convergence of email and social media might occur.

10. Students need to move past the skills into the literacies. “The literacies take you deeper than the skill into an immersion and involvement with the culture you are in.” We know that technology is just the tool. Everything we do needs to be focused on the learning.

I keep hearing/reading about the old adage, ‘we cannot predict the future’. True, we can’t. But, by the same token, we have never been able to predict the future. I’m pretty sure that my primary school teachers in the 1970s woud never have imagined the plethora of technology available and its integration (dare I say necessity?) in the workplace. So let’s stop worrying about the future and just get on with living the today, the here and now, and doing the very best we can to equip our learners with the skills and literacies to deal with whatever the future holds.

Baz Luhrmann

#Learning #Thinking #Reflecting #video #EducationalTechnology #Future