The future of education?

Before the start of Term 1 in January, middle management had a professional development day at Northern Beaches Christian School  - of which the Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning is part. Its Headmaster, Stephen Harris, visited Newington this afternoon to share his vision for innovation in education with staff. 


If you haven't seen the short video 'A Day made of Glass' - a vision of the near future which has received almost 20 million hits since it was uploaded to YouTube in 2011 (or even if you have), here is the expanded and updated version published this year:

What will schools look like in ten years (any more than ten is the distant future)? Online learning now takes place alongside face to face learning and is growing; textbooks are fast becoming obsolete; and whilst a few years ago the future was thought to involve 'one to one devices', already both pupils and teachers are using two or three devices every day in the school environment. 


The idea of banning the use of mobile devices at schools is fast becoming meaningless, as these increasingly become the primary means of accessing the internet (my Year 12s will readily google a question on an iPhone if I can't give them an instant answer); with the ever evolving world of apps producing easy to use and engaging educational tools. 


The role of teachers standing in front of a class of pupils, all facing the (once black, now white) board is already 'so last century'. Once the classroom was the place where separate pupils were taught by separate teachers. Whereas MBAs now involve extensive teamwork, to reflect how the workplace is changing, schools often don't operate in this way. It is difficult to engender teamwork skills in pupils, if teachers still operate as separate teachers - and not in teams. 


An interesting question - where do you go to feel inspired/creative? The beach, the bush, the hills.... but never school. So why not school? Schools, Harris argues, need to provide spaces that enable learners to feel comfortable and inspired to learn; their design - and furniture - needs to change to become places that can be a launchpad to inspire face to face, collaborative and online learning.


I find all of this challenging, provocative - and slightly overwhelming. Keeping pace with change when that change is so rapid is hard, risky and expensive; and one can only move as fast as the government bodies will allow, which is always slow. The NSW Board of Studies does not, at this time, permit the use of computers in public exams. The traditional division of subjects looks unlikely to change anytime soon, let alone the examination system. 


Conservatism, coupled with tinkering around the edges and soundbites to appease the electorate - remains the prevailing paradigm. No sooner did I get to the point where I was effectively using online learning platforms in all my classes, that I found that I was getting left behind again.


The innovation in education - from the physical design of schools to the fabric of the curriculum that is being driven in parts of Asia, Scandanavia and North America - with great success - cannot be ignored by more risk-averse and conservative governments. As Barack Obama said a few years ago, successful economies are built upon innovation, creativity - and (inevitably) serious investment - in education.


Google is one such example. Last week, following the launch of its driverless car in Nevada, I heard the chief executive of Google say that he found it absurd that we still allow human beings to drive cars. Perhaps one day we will think it was ridiculous back in 2012 to have a class of 30 pupils, sitting behind desks, listening to the words of a single teacher.