Today’s classroom is a far cry from the traditional image of locker desks, chalkboards and pencils. With education expected to prepare children for a fast-changing digital workplace, technology-led learning is becoming the norm and kids may be coding before they can read and write.
As a result, global spending on educational technology is booming. It’s expected to double to $341 billion between 2018 and 2025, according to data and research firm HolonIq.
“We’re asking young people what they want to be when they grow up, when maybe more than half of the job’s tasks and industries they may work in have not been invented yet,” says Heather McGowan, a future work strategist who helps to prepare people and organizations for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which will see the world reshaped by artificial intelligence, robotics and other technological breakthroughs.
A report by the World Economic Forum notes that 65% of the children entering primary school in 2017 will have jobs that do not yet exist and for which their education will fail to prepare them.
Education must adapt accordingly. McGowan thinks this means less focus on transferring knowledge, and more on the ability to learn for yourself.
“The foundational knowledge of the future is your own ability to learn and adapt, because if you don’t your career will come to a screeching halt after a couple of years,” she says.