| Obviously nobody has the exact answer to this question, but it is an important one to consider. To start out, it is important to look at many of the trends related to learning that are already taking hold in our world.
Knowledge is expanding at a tremendous rate. The class graduating H.S. in the year 2000 will be exposed to more new information in one year then their grandparents were in a lifetime. Memorizing facts will have a much lower value, while utilizing information for analysis and decisions will be a critical skill.
The typical worker will have many distinct careers in his or her lifetime. Each of these careers will require new knowledge and skills. Lifelong learning will be something that any successful person must do to compete. It will no longer be worthwhile to learn something with the hope that it will be useful at some time. Just-In-Time learning that meets the needs of individuals as they occur, makes learning more meaningful and effective.
The companies and careers of the future will utilize technologies that have not even been conceived of today. These technologies will require a whole new set of skills from the workforce. Learning to use the new technology will be important, and so will using those technologies to learn.
The world is shrinking rapidly. The Internet has brought the world together in ways that nobody would have expected. You can now attend a college half way around the world, with students from any country with Internet access. People will telecommute to their jobs more in the future, while their companies compete globally.
So what might learning look like in the future?
In order to meet the needs of the changing world noted above, future learning must take on more of the following qualities:
- Time flexible
- Geography independent
- Competitive cost / value
- Learner-centered
- Technology embracing
- Ethnically diverse
Organizations that deliver learning will need to consider these issues and more:
- Realize what market they serve
- Be responsive to learner needs
- Prove their value to learners
- Listen closely to the needs of business
- Remove some of the massive burdens on instructors
- Look for partnerships with other complementary organizations
- Find creative ways to certify learning credentials
- Be prepared to compete globally with a variety of learning providers
As a result of all of those factors we may see some of the following predictions come true in the next decade:
-
Corporations will compete directly with colleges and K-12 schools.
-
Partnerships and mergers between learning institutions, publishers, technology companies, learning providers will consolidate the marketplace.
-
Many schools and colleges will be taken over or will go out of business
-
A much greater % of learning (formal and informal) will take place online.
-
The massive role of instructor will be broken down into multiple positions: curriculum design, content delivery, classroom facilitator, learner support, etc.
-
Top instructors will be hired by the private sector for all the positions stated above.
-
Fewer students will get the traditional on-campus degree, and most will get at least a portion of it online and off-campus.
-
Learning providers will compete over learners especially those that are highly motivated and able to pay the most.
-
Learners will complete degrees and certificates made up of courses and experiences from a wide range of learning providers.
Next Question >
|
This Question 
