What is the future of learning?

 

A close look at our world reveals that everything is changing rapidly including the way people communicate, shop and travel but the acceleration of change in learning system is not up to the mark it should be. Why has the education system not changed? Is it because it is still valid? The answer is no, simply because it was designed to meet military purposes. It was designed to produce ‘identical and interchangeable people’ like clerks and accountants (Mitra, 2014). To a high extent, the current system ignores technology which is embedded tightly in our daily lives. Also, learning is slow, limited and delivered in a boring way as Robison (2010) has put it ‘learners endure school rather than enjoy it.’ Therefore, Robinson (2010) emphasizes that it is not adequate to reform the current system rather it should be totally changed. Schleicher (2015 as cited in Stanfield, J. and Strohmayer, A. 2015) placed emphasis on the same idea by suggesting that ‘Adding 21st-century technologies to 20th-century teaching practices will just dilute the effectiveness of teaching.’ Therefore, this paper attempts to suggest some changes for future learning and schools in terms of infrastructure, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment.

 

 

How future schools should look like? I think future schools should look totally different than today’s schools. Future schools should be both physical as well as digital. Buildings will be more attractive having no fences or classes except in reconfigurable sense in space. Holland (2014) draws attention to the fact that learners all over the world sit in the same way for around seven hours in an environment decided by others. Therefore, I think that Walls, tables, which should be interactive with touch screens on top, and chairs should be smart and mobile so they can be adapted to learners needs. They can be used as virtual gadgets to display any environment students want to learn about as if it is real. In addition, internet will be a vital part of the smart learning environment. Internet will also enable students to get the most of the integrated natural learning environment (farming, manufacturing, fishing…etc) which I think will be part of future schools. Internet will also aid in evolving classes into labs which consequently make children thirsty for learning (Anonymous, 2011).

 

The existing curriculum produces exams taking machines by teaching known facts and encouraging memorization. This curriculum is no longer can cope with the future. Mitra (2013) believes that any curriculum should be learner- driven because learners who find information by themselves can retain it longer. Likewise, ‘Piaget placed considerable importance on what the child could discover for himself rather than with the help of other'(Watson, 2000).Therefore, I believe that new curriculum should be designed to meet individuals’ needs and to stimulate thinking. I believe by making the curriculum learner- driven, children will be more creative and motivated as they feel that they own their learning. Students will have great control over their learning, they can go at their own pace and on their own individual path. Teachers will get time to focus on higher order thinking skills like problem-solving and critical thinking. I also believe that the curriculum should give more room to learning by doing which undoubtedly helps students retain knowledge for lifetime. In addition, curriculum should be Tech-enabled so learners can search for any data using whatever resources available (Mitra, 2014; Revolution (2012) and Holland (2014). In general, I think curriculum should be based on technology, should be resource-rich and student-driven. Digital text books should replace paper ones and there should be no constraints of time or space as learning can take place anytime and anywhere with the support of Technology. As we can see from the above elicitation, that internet will be very crucial. Therefore, internet and networking should be main subjects in the future curriculum. Through these subjects children will be trained to judge the reliability of websites which is considered central by Todd (2010).

Pedagogy cannot be prescribed at this point in time but I think certain suggestions and predictions can be made. One prominent fact is that much of current teaching practices will not exist in the future. Learning will be more flexible, child-driven and largely topic based. According to Mitra (2014) children can almost learn anything through internet. Likewise, McNamee and Moscheta (2015) express that ‘in a world of increasing access and never-ending information offerings, technology has far more power in proliferating ideas than any teacher could ever have’. Thus, I think learners will take the major part of their learning and will be allowed to create their own learning timetables and choose their preferences of learning plans. Teachers’ role will be helping children when struggling, linking learning to outside world and creating the conditions of learning to take place as farmers create conditions for seeds to flourish (Robinson, 2010). In short, the focus should not be on the mastery of content but on the process of finding the right information.

Regarding the assessment, I suggest there should be both formative and summative assessment but should take different forms than today’s assessment. The formative one should be continuous, automated, and invisible. To achieve this type of assessment the smart walls, chairs, tables and text books should be equipped with electronic chips that measure students’ performance in terms of being able to find information, studying, participating, using thinking skills, helping others and any other criteria used for future assessment. For the summative assessment, I strongly agree with Mitra (2013) that internet should be allowed in exam halls. The same idea is addressed by Stanfield and Strohmayer (2015), they opine that current exams do not target 21^st century skills. I believe that implementing the above two ideas will have great positive impacts on the learning process as a whole. Students will be very enthusiastic and motivated when being aware that all their efforts are measured and appreciated. Teachers also will be challenged and will think out of the box when writing exams since they know that easy questions with clear answers will no longer serve the purpose. Not only this but also teachers will not prepare students for exams that are obsolete rather they will prepare them for life in general (Mitra, 2013).

In conclusion, all stakeholders involved in education should work hand to hand to design the future learning and start building it. The role of technology should be expanded and embedded in all parts of education such as infrastructure, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment to make it child-driven because ‘learning is progressively considered as being based on an active exploration and personal construction'(Bottino, 2004).

References:

Bottino, R. M. (2004) The evolution of ICT-based learning environment: which perspictives for the school of the future? British Journal of Educational Technology. 35(5), 553-567.

Holland, B. (2014) The Future of Learning. [online] 17 November 2014 Available at: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/the-future-of-learning-beth-holland [accessed 02/11/2015].

McNamee, S. and Moscheta, M. (2015) Relational Intelligence and Collaborative Learning. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2015(134), 25–40.

Mitra, S. (2013) Should students be allowed to use the internet in exams? [online] 17 November 2013 Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/jun/17/ipads-exams-teaching-test-schools%5Baccessed 15/11/2015].

Mitra, S. (2014) The future of schooling: Children and learning at the edge of chaos. PROSPECTS, 44(4), 547-558.

NEGROPONTE ON FUTURE SCHOOLS: Laptops make children thirst for learning. (2011, Fall). Scholastic Administr@tor, 11, 34-35.

2 Revolution (2015) The Future of Learning. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoSJ3_dZcm8 [Accessed 12/11/ 2015].

Robinson (2010) Bring in the revolution. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9LelXa3U_I [Accessed: 10/11/2015].

Stanfield, J. and Strohmayer, A. (2015) Outdated exams are holding children back – not computers in the classroom [online] 20 October 2015 Available at: https://theconversation.com/outdated-exams-are-holding-children-back-not-computers-in-the-classroom-47810 [accessed 26/11/2015].

Todd, R. J. (2010) “To be or not to be:” school libraries and the future of learning. School Library Monthly, 26(10), 16-19.

Watson, J. (2000) Constructive instruction and learning difficulties. Support for learning, 15(3), 134-140.

 

Positives, Negatives and interesting things about twitter and blogs

 

Nowadays almost everybody carries on their pocket at least one smart device that enables them accessing information and communicating with people through different means such as social media ,which is the most dominant, and blogs. Even though Social media and blogs have become a vital part of people’s daily life worldwide, unfortunately, it is still ignored to some extent in educational contexts. Newcastle University stood out as an exception allowing students to use twitter and blogs in some modules like The Future of Learning module (EDU8213). This paper lays out the positives and interesting aspects of my experience in using twitter and blogs in EDU8213 module which, in fact, are many. It also highlights two negatives.

Opening the class on twitter and blogging has enhanced my learning, I found it advantageous in various ways. First of all, it is a good platform to keep the notes of the whole class and others for long. I was frequently going back to the hashtag used for this module and blogs to read my own and others’ notes and I always find information I am looking for. Second, both boost collaboration among students, lecturers (Prof. Mitra and Dr. Stanfield), people and organizations around the world interested in the future of learning. Everyone shares interesting tweets, videos, blogs and other materials related to the topic which as a result has widened my understanding about the topic. This collaboration encourages me and others to learn from one another leading to collaborative thinking which is known for its strong positive effects on students’ learning. Third, twitter and blogs give me the opportunity to know people ,such as teachers, students, schools’ owners and others, and organizations ,such as schools and institutions, from different parts of the world interested in education in general and in the future of learning in specific. This leads to fruitful discussions about the topic and valuable feedback from different people. Forth, as an international student, my conception of diversity and globalization has become clearer through dealing with people from different backgrounds. Consequently, my appreciation to others’ perspectives and opinions has risen as well. Fifth, both are beneficial in fostering my communication, negotiation and persuasion skills. Beside all the above points, I find it very interesting when people favorite, retweet my tweets or leave a comment on my blog. It is also interesting when people whom I do not know follow me or praise my opinions and thoughts. Regarding the negative side, using twitter during classes can be distractive and affects negatively human interaction. Sometimes I find myself tweeting and not concentrating with what is being discussed in the class. Also, word limit is annoying as I had many times to express myself in more than one tweet.

In Conclusion, it cannot be denied that twitter and blogs have become inseparable part of almost every one’s life. Therefore, I cannot see the point in totally neglecting or banning them in most of the schools. In my point of view, they should be used as an extra element in teaching and learning process. It helps students widening their understanding of different topics, interacting with others, keeping their notes for a long time. In general twitter and blogs are very interactive, beneficial forums that all stakeholders of education should benefit from. I believe that their advantages outweigh their disadvantages.

 

Designing a school in Chilpancingo

 

https://storify.com/learningfuture1/chilpancingo-school

The session on 24^th of November of the interesting module EDU8213 was another challenge. Prof. Mitra asked the whole class to create what he called in purpose learning environment in 20 years into the future which is in the year 2035.The world map was displayed on the smart board. He asked one of our classmates with closed eyes to point at the map. She pointed at Chilpancingo in Mexico, so our mission was to create the school for the children of this city.

 

 

At this point he left the class to implement self-organized learning environment. Did that work with adults? At the beginning it was chaos. People started to give suggestions on how to carry out this task but in vain. I suggested to work as one big group but again people were busy talking to each other. Eventually each one started working with people in their groups.

Members of my group decided to put a strategy. First, we decided to go back to the year 1980 as advised by Prof. Sugata to see how much the technology has developed. We could come up with a list of some forms of technology that were not available. Internet, smart devises, DVD, virtual learning environments and social media are the most prominent ones that were not available in 1980. This step gave us a clue that technology will even be more dominant in twenty years. As a group we decided to read about the development in Chilpancingo in the last twenty years

 

When reading about the city, we found that the city has a population of approximately 187,000 people and is famous for crimes and gangs. Interestingly, there was a dramatic increase in the literacy which indicates that there is a positive attitude towards education from both people and government.

 

Later, it was decided to think about the curriculum in our future school. The group reached a consensus that there will not be text books instead there will be smart devices. Also, the content will not be decided by one body. It will be decided by all stakeholders that includes children, parents, teachers and others. Then, it was time to discuss the assessment. I suggested that the assessment should not take the same form as today. One idea the group came up with is that by the end of each academic year all children are asked to reflect on and present their experience throughout the year.

At this point time was over and unfortunately all groups were not able to finish the task. As a class it was decided to meet again for a couple of hours before the last session. The purpose was to work as one group and create the school to present to Prof. Sugata during the last session.

 

On Thursday 26^th of November, most of the class members attended the meeting. Things were different this time, it was more fruitful and enriching. We worked as one group but again people started to talk about different topics at a time. I suggest to discuss each point separately and when we reach an agreement we move to the other one. So we decided to tackle infrastructure, funding, curriculum, assessment, role of the children, parents and teachers.

Infrastructure:

We built our ideas about the school building by assuming that the internet in 2035 will be worldwide through satellites. Therefore, we came up with a smart glass building. I suggested that all walls should be smart. While writing this blog, it came to my mind that these walls can be used in various ways. First, they can be used as smart boards. Second, they can be used as computers. Third, they can be used as virtual environments. If the session is about building ships, for example, a real demonstration will be display, if the lesson is about space again the real space will be display and so on. Also, there will be many rest areas and flexible working stations. Children not necessarily work while sitting on chairs, the building and the type of furniture will provide more freedom. Furthermore, the open areas of the school will contribute in the whole learning process. They will apply whatever they learn in the open area. The open area will work as a lap where children conduct different experiments. In addition, there will be recreational area for kids.

Curriculum, pedagogy and assessment:

This was the core of the whole discussion. It was decided that children can choose the subjects they want to explore but basic ones will still be there such as math, science, history and languages. Children can choose their own study plans that fulfil their interests. Then the discussion moved to be about grouping. There was a debate on whether children should be grouped by age or ability. Here I said that age cannot be completely ignored but should not be rigid as well. Children still can go up or down according to their abilities and interests. Assessment will be more flexible than the current one as decided. It will take almost the same form as SOLEs questions and portfolio. The portfolio will be used over the years of kids’ education. I believe such assessment will motivate kids more and will widen their mental abilities.

 

 

 

 

How should children acquire these skills?

 

 

 

https://editor.storify.com/564dbafd0071dc0c7654bb7b

 

 

To answer this question Prof.Sugata suggested a great idea which is to reflect on our own schooling. The main feature of my own schooling is that it was teacher-centered, depends on memorization, no connection between learning experience with the world out side the school or even with the rationale behind learning certain concepts and students learn to pass exams and not for life. Interestingly, I can remember very clearly things I learnt but never used and some I used but no longer have I needed them. We were taught to solve and sometimes memorize many equations in math, chemistry and physics but there was no explanation of the rationale behind them or link to real world. We were asked to memorize lots of poems and other things which we intend to forget immediately after exams. We were taught for exams and not for life. I cannot claim that I have learnt nothing from school, of course after spending twelve years in a school one will learn something. But was the learning experience interesting or boring? Was it enriching or restrictive? I think my answer will be negative to both questions.

Apart from schools, I learnt things from my parents, peers and community that last up to date. Some examples of things that I did not learn from school are English and some forms of technology. I spent many years learning English at school but did not acquire it and then living with an Australian family for two months made it possible to acquire English. In addition, I learnt how to use some Microsoft applications from my peers.

Who is my favorite teacher?

I do not really have a favorite teacher but I still remember some good teachers and I think there are many factors made me love attending there classes. Some of these factors are their passion and loyalty to their career.

Why do you think that education you received is no longer adequate?

I think it is no longer adequate for one main reason which is that it was not formed to suit the requirements of 21^st century. Many thoughts occupied my mind and many questions raises themselves. Before the current education, why were there lots of scholars and scientists who wrote lots of books in their twenties and thirties? Why were there individuals who have encyclopedic knowledge about different disciplines? Does the existing education system constrain students? I think it does. When spending twelve years or more to learn certain set of goals and five in university level to learn one particular major, it does stop students from being more knowledgeable. If the current education system has ever worked for previous generations under particular circumstances, it might not work for the current and coming generations.

What do I think about the hole in the wall and SOLEs?

These two experiments prove that students learn from their peers and they learn from the internet efficiently. It is no more when one is looking for information, s/he needs to look for dozens of books or look for a person that might have the answer. The internet with all its capacity including research engines, journals, social media does the job. Therefore, I think that teacher’s role can change from lecturing, facilitating and monitoring to kind of guiding

.

How children should acquire this knowledge and these skills?

 

 

Sources of knowledge should not be limited to schools, peers or community. I believe that the key element here is preparing children very well so they can use all available sources appropriately. These sources can be the current education system (or hopefully a new one), peers, parents, community, technology and other resources that might emerge in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

What knowledge and skills should a child have acquired by the age of 12 and how do we evidence it?

 

 

https://storify.com/learningfuture1/provocation-1

 

https://storify.com/learningfuture1/second-session-of-the-future-of-learning

 

This is really a good start to think about the future of learning. It is just like a foundation on which the future education system will be built. The new education system is no doubt coming to existence in the near future due to the rapid and massive development of technology. Even though it is difficult to generalize the skills that should be acquired by 12 years olds in the 21st century due to cultural and individual differences in different parts of the world, I can list some key skills that helps learners cope with this fast era.

Reading: which aids in acquiring other skills.

Critical and creative thinking: which helps learners evaluate and analyze information they come across.

Problem solving: which helps students put strategies to overcome and tackle any situation they encounter.

Ethical reasoning: which instils ethics in learners.

Enthusiasm to learn: which will act as a stimulus for learning.

All the above mentioned skills are very important as a foundation for the following key skill which is:

Competency in using technology in general and internet in specific: I am a big fan of SOLEs and I do believe that learners can learn whatever they want to from the internet but should be equipped with the previously mentioned skills. Internet helps learners use their thinking skills and unlimited capacity of their minds to learn whatever they want by using the available great resources which internet comes on top of all.

I believe that children in 21^st century should not be taught exactly the same way we were taught. They should acquire skills that can work in all different learning situations. As John Holt (1964) has put it, ’since we do not know what kind of information will be needed in the 21st century. It is senseless to teach it in advance. Instead we should be turning out people who love learning so much and learn so well that they will be able to learn whatever need to be learnt.’

What knowledge and skills should a child have acquired by the age of 12 and how do we evidence it? (reflection on 2^nd session)

The second session was a typical example of SOLE but this time it was with adults. We were separated into five groups with around five members each.

Members in groups were really involved actively in the discussion and each group tried to come up with creative ideas. I found this task to be very enriching and inspiring. It boosts collaborative thinking and learning. It also involves sociocultural knowledge skills, each one in the group tried to share their thoughts about the above mentioned skills.

 

 

Negotiation took place in order to come up with the best final list of skills and assessment type. Some good ideas related to skills emerged like being able to find information and learn any subject using the available resources, being able to use higher order thinking skills, enthusiastic to learn independently and thinking and learning collaboratively. Regarding the second part of the question, the group suggested some ideas which were praised and appreciated by Prof.Sugata. Some of these ideas are self-reflection, collaborative and collective reflection, learner-guided inquiry and teacher-guided inquiry.

 

 

At the end prof.Sugata asked the whole class to compile the whole work done by all groups in two sheets and left the class to implement exactly SOLE. The final list included some good key skills such as creative and critical thinking, self-awareness, working collaboratively, discerning between useful and non-useful information and empowerment. Furthermore, it includes some brilliant ideas about assessment which are self-assessment and evaluation, testing at the beginning and continuous, invisible continuous assessment and peer-assessment

References:

Holt, J. (1964) How Children Fail. New York: Pitman Publishing Corp

How should children acquire this knowledge and these skills?

https://editor.storify.com/564dbafd0071dc0c7654bb7b Storify link:

 

 

Interestingly, when I think profoundly about my own schooling, I can remember very clearly things I learnt but never used and some I used but no longer I need them. We were taught to solve and sometimes memorize many equations in math, chemistry and physics but there was no explanation of the rationale behind them or link to real world. We were asked to memorize lots of poems and other things which we intend to forget immediately after exams. We were taught for exams and not for life. I cannot claim that I have learnt nothing from school, of course after spending twelve years in a school one will learn something. But was the learning experience interesting or boring? Was it enriching or restrictive? I think my answer will be negative to both questions.

Apart from schools, I learnt many things from my parents, peers and my community that last up to date. One prominent example is learning English. I spent many years learning English at school but failed to acquire it and then living with an Australian family for two months made it possible to acquire English. Another example is my kids, they joined one school here in Britain and picked up English within almost three months. Did they acquire it from teachers or peers? The answer is after spending one and a half months at school I was not happy with their progress so I met their teachers. I requested them to talk more to them. The reply was” do not worry they learn from their peers more than they do from us, they will pick it up fast. How? We do not know”.

Regarding my favorite teacher, I do have some favorite teachers and I think there are many factors made me love attending there classes. Some of these factors are their passion and loyalty to their career.

Why do you think that education you received is no longer adequate?

Many thoughts occupied my mind and many questions raises themselves. Before the current education, why were there lots of scholars and scientists who wrote lots of books in their twenties and thirties? Why were there individuals who have encyclopedic knowledge about different disciplines? Does the existing education system constrain students? I will argue yes, it does. When spending twelve years or more to learn certain set of goals and five in university level to learn one particular major, it does stop students from being more knowledgeable. Some may argue that it is the student responsibility to read more and improve themselves after school hours. I would say that in many parts of the world students go back home burdened with lots of home works and the assessment system is another stress. If the current education system has ever worked for previous generations under particular circumstances, it might not work for the current and coming generations.

Coming back to the hole in the wall and SOLE experiments, I think these two experiments tell us that students learn from their peers and they learn from the available sources of knowledge. These sources are increasing day by day. It is no more when one is looking for an answer for any question, s/he needs to look for dozens of books or look for a person that might have the answer. The internet with all its capacity including research engines, journals, social media and other elements facilitates learning process. Therefore, I think that teacher’s role can change from lecturing, facilitating and monitoring to kind of guiding.

How children should acquire this knowledge and these skills?

 

I think we should not limit the sources to schools, peers or community. I believe that the key skill is preparing children very well so they can use all available sources appropriately. These sources might be the current education system (or hopefully a new one), peers, parents, community, technology and other resources that might emerge in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

How should children acquire this knowledge and these skills?

https://editor.storify.com/564dbafd0071dc0c7654bb7b Storify link:

 

 

Interestingly, when I think profoundly about my own schooling, I can remember very clearly things I learnt but never used and some I used but no longer I need them. We were taught to solve and sometimes memorize many equations in math, chemistry and physics but there was no explanation of the rationale behind them or link to real world. We were asked to memorize lots of poems and other things which we intend to forget immediately after exams. We were taught for exams and not for life. I cannot claim that I have learnt nothing from school, of course after spending twelve years in a school one will learn something. But was the learning experience interesting or boring? Was it enriching or restrictive? I think my answer will be negative to both questions.

Apart from schools, I learnt many things from my parents, peers and my community that last up to date. One prominent example is learning English and learning how to drive. I spent many years learning English at school but failed to acquire it and then living with an Australian family for two months made it possible to acquire English. Another example is my kids, they joined one school here in Britain and picked up English within almost three months. Did they acquire it from teachers or peers? The answer is after spending one and a half months at school I was not happy with their progress so I met their teachers. I requested them to talk more to them. The reply was” do not worry they learn from their peers more than they do from us, they will pick it up fast. How? We do not know”.

Regarding my favorite teacher, I do have some favorite teachers and I think there are many factors made me love attending there classes. Some of these factors are their passion and loyalty to their career.

Why do you think that education you received is no longer adequate?

Many thoughts occupied my mind and many questions raises themselves. Before the current education, why were there lots of scholars and scientists who wrote lots of books in their twenties and thirties? Why were there individuals who have encyclopedic knowledge about different disciplines? Does the existing education system constrain students? I will argue yes, it does. When spending twelve years or more to learn certain set of goals and five in university level to learn one particular major, it does stop students from being more knowledgeable. Some may argue that it is the student responsibility to read more and improve themselves after school hours. I would say that in many parts of the world students go back home burdened with lots of home works and the assessment system is another stress. If the current education system has ever worked for previous generations under particular circumstances, it might not work for the current and coming generations.

Coming back to the hole in the wall and SOLE experiments, I think these two experiments tell us that students learn from their peers and they learn from the available sources of knowledge. These sources are increasing day by day. It is no more when one is looking for an answer for any question, s/he needs to look for dozens of books or look for a person that might have the answer. The internet with all its capacity including research engines, journals, social media and other elements facilitates learning process. Therefore, I think that teacher’s role can change from lecturing, facilitating and monitoring to kind of guiding.

How children should acquire this knowledge and these skills?

 

I think we should not limit the sources to schools, peers or community. I believe that the key skill is preparing children very well so they can use all available sources appropriately. These sources might be the current education system (or hopefully a new one), peers, parents, community, technology and other resources that might emerge in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

Second session of The Future Of Learning

https://storify.com/learningfuture1/second-session-of-the-future-of-learning (storify link)

The second session was a typical example of SOLE but this time it was with adults. We were separated into seven groups with around five members each. It started by asking members in each group to answer and share their ideas of the same big question which is what are the skills and knowledge 12 years old children need to acquire and how too evidence that?

Members in groups were really involved actively in the discussion and  each group tried to get the best ideas to answer the questions in the given time which was almost half an hour .In my own group I found this first task to be very enriching and inspiring. It really boosts collaborative thinking and learning. It also involves sociocultural knowledge skills, each one in the group tried to share their thoughts about the above mentioned skills. Negotiation took place in order to come up with the best final list of skills and assessment type. Some good ideas related to skills emerged like being able to find information and learn any subject using the available resources, being able to use higher order thinking skills, enthusiastic to learn independently and thinking and learning collaboratively. Regarding the second part of the question, the group suggested some ideas which were praised and appreciated by Prof.Sugata. Some of these ideas are self-reflection, collaborative and collective reflection, learner-guided inquiry and teacher-guided inquiry.

The second task was to present the findings and each group was given five minutes. After each presentation Prof.Sugata highlighted the themes or the rising ideas. This stage was important for everyone to know and be aware of all different suggestions and it formed a base for the third stage. The most rising suggestion came from group four which was invisible continuous assessment.

At the end prof.Sugata asked the whole class to compile the whole work done by the seven groups in two sheets and left the class to implement exactly SOLE. Despite the shortage of time, the whole class tried to put the best suggestions. The final list included some good key skills such as creative and critical thinking, self-awareness, working collaboratively, discerning between useful and non-useful information and empowerment. Furthermore, it includes some brilliant ideas about assessment which are self-assessment and evaluation, testing at the beginning and continuous, invisible continuous assessment and peer-assessment.

In general, it was a good experience to take part in trying to shape the future of learning. It was exciting from the beginning of the class until the end. It included many tasks involve higher order thinking skills such as negotiation, collaboration, analysis, evaluation and creativity.

In sum, the second session involved us actively to think about what skills needed in the 21^st century for children and how to achieve them. It also made me personally think profoundly whether the current education system suites the new generation of children or not. And if not to what extent it should be changed and reformed, partially or radically.

reflection on session 2

Here I am reflecting on today’s session which has just finished. It was a typical example of SOLE but this time it was with adults. It started by asking members in each group to answer a big question which is what are the skills and knowledge 12 years old children need to acquire and how too evidence that?

Members in groups were really involved actively in the discussion and each group tried to get the best ideas to answer the questions in the given time which was almost half an hour .In my own group I found this first task to be very enriching and inspiring. It really boosts collaborative thinking and learning.

The second task was to present the findings and each group was given five minutes. After each presentation Prof.Sugata highlighted the themes or the rising ideas.

At the end prof.Sugata asked the whole class to compile the whole work done by the seven groups in two sheets and left the class to implement exactly SOLE.

In general, it was a good experience to take part in trying to shape the future of learning.

https://storify.com/learningfuture1/second-session-of-the-future-of-learning

Provocation 1

Provocation 1

What knowledge and skills should a child have acquired by the age of 12 and how do we evidence it?

This is really a big question and there is no certain or direct answer to it especially that what one child needs to acquire in Asia may differ from another child in Europe due to individual differences. What makes the issue more complicated is that, things keep changing rapidly in the current century with the existence of technology.

In general I think by the age of 12 a child in the 21^st century should be able to read which will pave the way for knowledge to be acquired. Also, by this age a child should have acquired the desire and enthusiasm to learn and should be equipped with necessary skills that help them learn whatever they want via World Wide Web.

The key skill in my point of view is the ability to use their thinking skills and unlimited capacity of their minds to learn whatever they want by using the available great resources which internet comes on top of them. As John Holt (1964) has put it, ’since we do not know what kind of information will be needed in the 21^st century. It is senseless to teach it in advance. Instead we should be turning out people who love learning so much and learn so well that they will be able to learn whatever need to be learnt.’

How to evidence it? May be by monitoring students’ progress in using different resources available to them to acquire knowledge.

My initial thoughts about ‘open class’ and questions it raises:

Taking part in an open class was a great opportunity for me and a new experience. At the beginning it was really hard to carry out more than one task at the same time which were listening to a lecture, tweet and reply to tweets. Later, tasks started getting easier and interesting especially when one sees his/her tweets being displayed in the smart board in front of the class. I think the idea of open class can be a good resource but I am not sure whether educators or learners could rely on it as the only way of delivering classes or it should be only one part of different ways of teaching and learning.in general the experience was great and I felt that it involves higher order thinking skills like evaluating different tweets and responding to them, analysing people’s responses and inferring and creating new conclusions or ideas. It also raises many questions like can open class replace traditional ones? What type of assessment suits open classes? How can learners get the best out of it?

https://storify.com/learningfuture1/provocation-1