Forecasting the Future of Education

On October 15 and 16, Generation All—along with several other partners including Hive Chicago Fund for Connected Learning, Thrive, Convergence Academies and the Institute for the Future (IFTF)—brought together thought leaders from education-related organizations across Chicago to learn about and plan for different trends emerging around the future.

IFTF is a nonprofit strategic foresight network celebrating 47 years of “making the future.” They provide their network with insights into business and organizational strategy, design and change processes, innovation, and social dilemmas.

At the event, IFTF introduced the group to several innovations such as virtual and augmented reality devices and discussed potential uses of this technology in the classroom. Additionally, the convening served to start a landscape scan of educational organizations in Chicago and how these organizations are working to prepare students for the nature of life, work and citizenry in the future.

At a recent convening of local education strategists, Institute for the Future shared their forecasts for emerging trends. Graphic facilitators from Ink Factory recorded the conversation in notes and sketches.

We discussed topics from organizational alignment to immersive technology and media to family, health and well-being. We listened to a panel on extreme learners and heard from Skyler Quinten Dees, an alumnus with Free Spirit Media, on what it was like for his non-traditional learning style to go through a traditional education setting.

The Ink Factory produced a number of graphic recordings that capture the essence of each of these stimulating conversations. Generation All was reminded of the importance of incorporating new skills and future trends into our recommendations plan, to be released in January 2016.

Towards the end of the session, participants began to identify groups in Chicago that are working on various aspects of education such as youth development and connected learning. While there are still many gaps and new players emerging in the field, at some point we must come together to identify ways we can work in tandem with each other to support student’s learning opportunities in the 21st century.

We at Generation All are thinking about this every day, and will work towards making this happen in a collaborative and meaningful way.