As technology enablement through virtual and augmented reality becomes more effective, and as artificial intelligence becomes more pronounced, learning scenarios shall become more dynamic and a real-time choreographic delight
"Change is the only constant. So should be learning!"
There is a loud noise announcing the arrival of bots and machines, overpowering every human faculty. Although, these drastic shifts might not be that conspicuous in the immediate future, nevertheless, the implications on learning shall be multi-farious and now.
The fourth industrial revolution heralds the beginning of new knowledge frontiers resulting in altered learning paradigms. The classrooms of the future shall be more connected; transcending conventional boundaries, and evolv-ing into intelligent nurturing spaces. Learning ambiences intertwined in the past because of time and space shall,in the future,have a different texture as an augmented phygital network drawing out the finest learning potential.
"The fourth industrial revolution heralds the beginning of new knowledge frontiers resulting in altered learning paradigms"
As researchers divulge new insights on technology en-ablement through virtual and augmented reality, and as artificial intelligence becomes more pronounced, learning scenarios shall become more dynamic and a real-time choreographic delight. In these exciting, engaging and enriching times, the role of teachers shall transform towards becoming LEDs (Learning Experience Designers), demonstrating a more calibrated, holistic and continual involvement in catalysing the learning experience.
If the QUESTION IS what will change, the ANSWER IS everything.
From the ambience of learning, to learning constructs, to building self-defining learning paths and understanding how the learning power is amplified using analytics; change will be the constant.
Learning Ambiences
The first impression of convergence technologies shall be felt in the way an education institute is designed with more open and networked spaces, where the tenor and feel of the ambient environment shall help liberate young minds and joyfully indulge in curious conversations. The entire spectrum of learning engagements shall resonate research and discovery leading to innovative thinking, an essentiality for the centennials of tomorrow.
Learning Constructs
Young, bright, sparkling minds need to be kindled by designing relevant, immersive, experiential constructs in order for them to experience creative excitement. The hallmark of future learning shall be characterised by coalescing the world of work and the world of learning, where learners shall develop, explore and cultivate ideas to bring scholarly innovations into the enterprise world. Digital fluencies shall play a major role in how these learning constructs shall be judiciously designed and meticulously executed to handle real-world problems.
Learning Simulators
The information processing power of the human brain can be best exploited by judiciously exposing it to various modalities of learning that simulate real world experiences. This shall be a major breakthrough in the future, where learning shall become a beautiful amalgamation of various sensory perceptions converging to an intuitive, intelligent metacognized response. It would be wonderful to be able to simulate a real-world scenario, and take future scholars to a different level of cerebral immersion.
Learning Analytics
With fantastic attainments in Data Science impacting decision-making like never before, opportunities to leverage and contextualise metadata and smartly use analytics shall become defining influences in the learning space. Scientifically attuned data,obtained from various fronts, shall help in providing authentic, descriptive and predictive indicators of learners' progression and drive smart choices. A lot of these insights will have a pervasive impact on tweaking the learning experience in real-time.
Customised Learning
The realisation of individual differences in terms of learning patterns, intelligences and styles has already been a much popular topic of today's times. One essential facet of the learning ecosystem of the future, therefore shall be to build on the foundational scholarship of differentiated learning designs. Technologies of the future shall help establish this with marked precision and customise the learning to truly make it extraordinary.
Unlearning and New Learning
As bespoke learning designs gain prominence, the ability to rethink learning shall become the vital criteria for effective learning. This rethinking- the concentrated powering of the learning process shall become an ongoing process of inducing novelty; resulting in resurfacing of bright, new ideas. It will be this ability to reanalyse the problem, and restructure scenarios that will help deal with unprecedented and wicked problems of the future.
Self-directed Learning
The future of learning shall witness the rise and evolution of the self. Learning shall not be limited to the consequence of an external intervention, but shall be a reflection of the powerful human mind. Where situations of the future shall compel the need to handle a tirade of conflicts between the mind and the machine, it will be the rise of the advanced, more intelligent human mind that shall govern human supremacy. This super prowess shall only be with those whose learning potential remains in sync with the times.
Gone are the days, when learning occurred within constrained, indelible boundaries. Learning in the future shall not be defined or imprisoned in the shackles of time, space or entity. Instead, the entire process of learning shall be a beautiful osmosis of exquisite experiences.It is important that we don't just wait for these times with bated breath, but empower ourselves to rise and participate in the change.
Connecting learning to the future shall help reimagine the natural, seamless, and joyous times that await us in the times to come and to Rejoice!
Dr Shradha Kanwar MPhil Head - Learning and Development, iNurture Education Solutions
Dr Shradha Kanwar MPhil, Ph.D. is an academic professional with over 20 years'experience in learning innovation leadership, interdisciplinary knowledge building, future-work integration, strategic performance and 21stcentury meta-competence development. Dr Kanwar's core research and work is around futuristic education strategies including,but not limited to, developing hybrid research-based inventive learning solutions, establishment and direction of performance and talent enhancement systems, and design and set-up of Learning Centres of Excellence for future learning-workenvironments.
.png){kind=logo}