Identify Trends - Common Learning Challenges in the WORLD!

In February I went along to listen to Roger Dennis talk at Pat Sneddon's house. He was absolutely fascinating. Roger Dennis has a job that allows him to look for trends and patterns at a global level, and think about possible futures and how governments and large businesses should prepare for this.

He said that there are four certainties (and challenges) facing us in the future:

1. Higher densities of people in certain areas of the planet - and the resulting resource shortages, which will require forward-thinking and large-scale urban planning and scientific advancements. For example Cape Town in South Africa has basically run out of water. He also mentioned another city where the water supply outside of town is controlled by the local mafia!

2. The decline of America and the rise of China - and the resulting Eastern influence in pop culture, markets and languages. I can see this already with the love of k-pop and anime in my juniors!

3. Technology will continue to improve and develop - and everything that CAN go online, will go online.

4. Climate change - despite what the orange buffoon claims, its real and its happening right now, and it will bring with it more extreme weather events and massive stress on existing infrastructure.

Click here to explore the Climate Change infographic on Climate Change Impact on People.

What can help us!!? BRAINE.

Biology - gene sequencing, gene editing and the costs associated with that rapidly decreasing.
Robotics
AI - interesting developments in this area; jobs that rely on patterns and rules (e.g. accountants, lawyers, traditional "good" jobs may be able to be performed by AI in the future. What does this leave for humans?
Nanotechnology
Energy - becoming more efficient, powerful and SMALLER; use of solar and renewable energy.

The new face of AI - meet Atlas!

When these BRAINE strands combine, amazing things can be created and change life as we know it; nanosurgery and drones being a few of these.

Best ever drone footage (from 2016)...

How can we prepare our students for these vastly different future from the one we (and their parents) grew up in, and how can we prepare them to contribute to these? Well... being able to read, write and do basic maths will still remain relevant and necessary for the transmission of information and the development and collaboration on ideas across time and space.

We can only hope that governments listen to Roger Dennis and upgrade our education system beyond the teach-to-assessment model and allow space for more critical thinking and creativity with our content.