Education's Coming Shakeup
Education systems are a reflection of their society. What happens when a society's structure starts to change, at its core?
This is essay 1 of 5 essays for The Tech Progressive Writing Challenge. Join the conversation in the build_ Discord.
I have been a Science teacher/tutor (G6-12) for almost two decades now. During that time, I have seen digital technology integrated into education in various ways. I have seen education technology expand from the VCR and projector, to online games and learning management systems (LMS).
However, despite all of this technological change, education systems have remained the same.
Why?
Because mass education systems are a reflection of their society.
However, our societies are undergoing major shifts thanks to cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and its offspring: Web 3.0.
What is so different this time?
Let’s start with cryptocurrency.
Even though Bitcoin has been around for more than a decade, its concept is still quite foreign to many. A currency that is not bound to and managed by a Central Bank, and bypasses (most) national borders, is revolutionary. In addition, it is decentralized, meaning its accounting records are not held in one central server, but in thousands of locations across the globe. Such an arrangement picks away at the role of nations.
One of the characteristics of an independent nation is its currency, and citizens are bound to it, for good or ill. A global currency weakens those bindings.
Currencies that do not care about national borders brings a freedom to build digital and physical economies wherever there is internet access. Thanks to the pandemic the digital nomad sector is now well established, and has yet to reach its peak.
The workforce, like the digital currency, is becoming more decentralized, and distributed across the world.
Such a workforce has to be self-managing, self-motivated and strong in the (hard to grade) soft skills. These skills include negotiation and time management. With people working in different time zones, common working hours and work locations lose their prominence. Groups of people working together are becoming even more diverse.
If education is about preparing students for their future, then it has to change. A centralized education system, with curricula from a central slow-to-move authority will struggle to meet their students’ needs. Also, with the decentralization of so many sectors of society, and easy access to educational content; home schooling and alternative schools provide stiff competition.
But it does not stop there. Blockchain technologies and the emergent Web 3.0 can disrupt the very pillars of contemporary education. It calls into question the need for exams, and credentialing. It brings back the apprenticeship model, with a modern sheen.
At the same time, though, we do not have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Several innovations of the past decades, such as authentic assessment and project-based learning, can thrive in this new environment. Plus high-quality teachers & coaches can become highly valued and well rewarded (as they should be).
I cannot explore all of this in one 500-word essay, so this will be my focus in the next six essays. So follow along with me, and enjoy the ride. Let’s discuss.