2020 Forecast - a tool to help shape the future

Many thanks again to John Branson for sharing this one with me via email. Thank you, John. You'll see that John referred to this article back in that comment.

There are many changes taking place, and many trends taking shape, as well as may new technologies that allow us to do new things, involve more people, visualize data, take control of your own learning, and organize people like never before. This report identifies these factors and shows how they interact to create real change.

From the report: "Over the next decade, the most vibrant innovations in education will take place outside traditional institutions. This 2020 Forecast: Creating the Future of Learning presents a critical dilemma facing these institutions: how to reconcile bottom-up developments in education with the traditional top-down hierarchy that is currently in place. Such peripheral innovation will redefine how learning is organized, who comprises the broad “school community,” and what the actual experiences of learners will be like in the future. The validity and role of formal institutions of education will be challenged by key forces of change and will be reconsidered by an expanding group of stakeholders. Together, the pressures of change and new stakeholder demands will create a new future for learning."

And, "This 2020 Forecast is a tool for thinking about, preparing for, and shaping the future. It outlines key forces of change that will shape the landscape of learning over the next decade. The forecast does not predict what will happen, but rather serves as a guide to the as-yet-unwritten future. It is designed to help you see connections among things that once seemed unrelated and to help you consider the changes and challenges that you are facing today within the context of wider patterns of change."

My suggestion is to start here http://www.futureofed.org/request-copy/ to create a login so you can download your own copy of this report. Share it with your Administrators. Talk about it in your next faculty meeting and in the lunchroom. Have a copy of the k12 Horizon report, too. This is good stuff.

Y' know, I just read (on one of the many sites I just skimmed) a rhetorical question that said something like, "Do you have to be a Principal to lead a school?" I would have to argue that no, you don't. You just have to be a leader. Be the change that you want to see in others, as Ghandi would say. Be a lifelong learner. Share your learning. Encourage others to think about and share their learning, as well. Lead these kinds of discussions that focus on the role of education in this rapidly changing world. When you're in meetings and the question comes up, "Does anyone have anything else to share?" you say yes, and you share what you've been reading and learning. Sned articles like this to your fellow teachers along with a question about the article that causes them to read the article closely. You will become known as the person who is a forward thinker, and one who is focused on the profession of being a teacher, and you will, in fact, lead your school by example.



You CAN do it!