21 Things That Will Be Obsolete by 2020: What will you do?

In a provocative article on the future of education, Shelly Blake-Plock, shares 21 predictions. Amongst predictions about learning foreign languages on cell phones, the obsolescence of desks and the proliferation of mobile computing in the classroom, Blake-Plock calls out these others that are noteworthy:

• HOMEWORK
  The 21st century is a 24/7 environment. And the next decade is going to see the traditional temporal boundaries between home and school disappear. And despite whatever Secretary Duncan might say, we don’t need kids to ‘go to school’ more; we need them to ‘learn’ more. And this will be done 24/7 and on the move …

• THE ROLE OF STANDARDIZED TESTS IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS
  The AP Exam is on its last legs. The SAT isn’t far behind. Over the next ten years, we will see Digital Portfolios replace test scores as the #1 factor in college admissions.
  

• DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION AS A SIGN OF DISTINGUISHED TEACHER
  The 21st century is customizable. In ten years, the teacher who hasn’t yet figured out how to use tech to personalize learning will be the teacher out of a job. Differentiation won’t make you ‘distinguished’; it’ll just be a natural part of your work.

And, finally, this one that draws my greatest attention …

• ORGANIZATION OF EDUCATIONAL SERVICES BY GRADE
  Education over the next ten years will become more individualized, leaving the bulk of grade-based learning in the past. Students will form peer groups by interest and these interest groups will petition for specialized learning. The structure of K-12 will be fundamentally altered.

Combine these predictions with those in the updated famous Shift Happens video:

• 28% of India's population with the highest IQ's … is greater than the total populate of the United States. This means that India has MORE HONORS KIDS than America HAS kids

• The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004. We are currently preparing children for jobs that don't exist yet, using technologies that haven't been invented in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet.

• The US department of labor estimates that today's learner will have 10-14 jobs by the age of 38!

• It is estimated that 40 exabytes (4×10^19) of unique information was generated worldwide in 2010. That is more than in the previous 5,000 years.

We live in exponential times. Times that are driven by information explosion, deep and vast penetration of technology, globalization, dynamic online collaboration, personalization, climate instability and more. While the rest of our lives are changing at an unprecendented pace, education as a system is evolving slowly, very slowly. It is like a blue whale. It takes forever to turn in a new direction.

We are; as Blake-Plock says in her response to criticism offered on her predictions, in a time of transition. We cannot leave our children's education up to schools alone. It is time that we parents step up to the plate, figure out what our children most need in these changing times and what we can do for them. It is time parents craft an educational experience that begins with a school and goes much beyond it.

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