EdTech 10: 20 Years from Now, Learning Will Look Like This

The end is not nigh. It’s much the opposite.
The most viewed blog on GettingSmart.com is a recent piece on what the future of learning will look like in 2035. In the blog, we peer 20 years into the future to see, with utmost optimism, that the learning landscape will improve with 40 predictions driven by five megatrends. This week’s EdTech 10 is inspired by the predictions and energy from the voices and positivity generated from piece.

Digital Developments

Pioneering people. Leading changes in learning will be an emerging set of world changing startups. GSV identified 250 companies that are poised to become the next generation of game-changing businesses. Headed to ASU+GSV this spring? Here are 20 impact enterprises that made it last year.

250 world changing #startups https://t.co/cdh7wXTayO @Andela @AltSchool @BrightBytes @clever @coursera @DreamBox_Learn @GA @MinervaProject

— Tom Vander Ark (@tvanderark) February 22, 2016

V see R. The use of VR for learning is expected to increase in 20 years. Recognizing this is Nearpod who launched the first-ever VR-based curriculum for K-12 schools. We’ve said it before, and we’ll note again…  VR is coming to a classroom near you.

.@nearpod Launches Nearpod VR, the 1st ever Virtual Reality-Based Curriculum for K-12 Schools https://t.co/D8mZZsEr6u #VR #EdTech10
— tyler (@post_west) February 23, 2016

Citizenry. Together, GoEnnounce and ESSDACK have launched a digital citizenship curriculum for high schools dubbed Your Digital Footprint. Digital citizenship is an increasingly important attribute of globally competent students. Want to know what globally competent students look like? Check out the first blog in a blog series by VIF International Education on global education and equitable preparation.  

.@ESSDACK Launches Digital Citizenship Curriculum With @GoEnnounce https://t.co/CUCCCxTvta #EdTech10

— tyler (@post_west) February 23, 2016

Dollars & Deals

(h)ELL yeah. Ellevation, producers of software that helps track the progress of students as they learn English, announced that they have raised a $6.4 million in a new investment round led by Laurene Powell Jobs, Zuckerberg Education Ventures an Omiyard. Keep an eye out for our upcoming ELL coverage.

#ELL #startup @ELLevationED raised $6.5M from @EmCollective @OmidyarNetwork Zuckerberg https://t.co/FA43zdMg03 #EdTech #EduVC
— Tom Vander Ark (@tvanderark) February 18, 2016

Stem Gems

And the winner is. Winners of Pearson’s third annual Student Coding Contest have been announced. Taking home first place is Lightpath from Anisha Srivastava, University of Texas at Austin, Texas. We LOVE to see young women succeed in STEM. Here is the GenDIY story of Zoe who found success in coding with Girls Who Code’s immersion program.

And the winners of @pearson‘s 2015 student coding contest are… https://t.co/t3jD76Zx44 #STEM #EdTech10

— tyler (@post_west) February 23, 2016

Challenging conventional solutions. Imagination Foundation, in partnership with AT&T, launched their “Inventor’s Challenge” to encourage students to invent something that solves a problem in their schools or communities. Similar but different to the Global Cardboard Challenge, this competition emphasizes the importance of students to be creators and community problem solvers.

@Imagination launches Inventor’s Challenge with @ATT Aspire https://t.co/N5RxEpQa7o #ATTimpact pic.twitter.com/kqNILym19g
— Tom Vander Ark (@tvanderark) February 22, 2016

Let’s Get Personalized

It Must Be Maine; The Way Life Should Be. CompetencyWorks’ Chris Sturgis has hit the road and visited, interviewed and shared the innovations in proficiency-based models she learned about in Maine. CompetencyWorks is a collaborative project led by iNACOL. Here are three other examples of states leading in the shift to competency-based models.

Maine: At the Forefront of Proficiency-Based Learning https://t.co/mkWABhF3ri via @sturgis_chris @CompetencyWorks #MEed

— tyler (@post_west) February 23, 2016

Teachers & Tech-ers

CBE PD. Our friend, and Smart Parents contributor, Patrick Riccards (@eduflack) published a killer blog on competency-based teacher education — a topic we care a lot about. See Preparing Teachers for Deeper Learning and our latest report on Micro-credentials in partnership with BloomBoard for more.

Competency-Based Education: The Black Box of Good Teaching. Great post by @eduflack https://t.co/NY4WRYoL9R #cbe #competencyed #teaching
— Carri Schneider (@CarriSchneider) February 23, 2016

Going global. In a blog on Medium, Dave Potter of VIF International Education shared eight must-know connected concepts of global education. As part of our Smart List series, Dave co-wrote a list that highlighted over 365 GlobalEd leaders.

Dave Potter (@GlobalReady) shares connected concepts of global learning https://t.co/h4wEErhYFx via @vifglobaled #EdTech10 @GlobalEd
— Getting Smart (@Getting_Smart) February 23, 2016

Movers, Shakers & Groundbreakers

Opening up. ISTE announced their 2016 opening keynote. This year it will be Michio Kaku, who will explore the crossroads between the brain and learning. Like last year, don’t be surprised to see a flood of bots and maker tech on the show floor.   

Dun dun dunnnn… @michiokaku to open @isteconnects 2016 in Denver https://t.co/QxD6awhleH #ISTE2016 #EdTech10
— tyler (@post_west) February 23, 2016

For more EdTech 10’s, check out:

• EdTech 10: Digital Learning Day is Every Day
• EdTech 10: America’s Got Talent(ed) Teachers
• EdTech 10: Time to Kickoff CTE Month

Stay in-the-know with all things EdTech and innovations in learning by signing up to receive the weekly Smart Update. This post includes mentions of a Getting Smart partner. For a full list of partners, affiliate organizations and all other disclosures please see our Partner page.