This document discusses education in the 21st century. It begins with a parable about blind men feeling different parts of an elephant to describe their understanding. It then lists attributes of a well-educated person in 2050, including continually questioning answers and asking the right questions. Emerging technologies like MOOCs, tablets, and learning analytics are described as changing education. Personalized learning environments and developing life-long learning skills are discussed as important goals.

1. Learning 221: Education in the
2nd decade of the 21st Century
— Prof. M.M. Pant
Former Pro Vice-Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University

2. What is the Education Discourse about?
• Once upon a time, there
lived six blind men in a
village. One day the
villagers told them, "Hey,
there is an elephant in the
village today."
• They had no idea what an
elephant is. They decided,
"Even though we would
not be able to see it, let us
go and feel it anyway." All
of them went where the
elephant was. Everyone
of them touched the
elephant.

3. First Man
"Hey, the elephant is a pillar,”
— said the first man who touched his leg.

4. 2nd Man
"Oh, no! it is like a rope”
—said the second man who touched the tail.

5. 3rd Man
"Oh, no! it is like a thick branch of a tree”
—said the third man who touched the trunk of the elephant.

6. 4th Man
"It is like a big hand fan"
—said the fourth man who touched the ear of the elephant.

7. 5th Man
• "It is like a huge wall"
— said the fifth man who touched the belly of the elephant.

8. 6th Man
"It is like a solid pipe"
— said the sixth man who touched the tusk of the elephant.

9. Three Questions for this age?
What does it mean to
know (something)?
How does a learner know
that he has learnt (what
he set out to learn)?
What are the attributes
of ‘an educated person’
in the 2nd half of the 20th
Century?

10. What would be the attributes/character
of a ‘Well Educated' person in 2050 ?
• Education is increasingly
not so much about knowing
the right answers to a set of
questions, but more about
continually questioning the
answers.
• And therefore asking the
right questions is the first
and most important step.

11. Summarize our Aspiration As:
• Maximize human potential.
• Facilitate a vibrant, participative democracy in which
we have an informed electorate that is capable of
not being ―spun‖ by self-interested leaders.
• Hone the skills, capabilities, and attitudes that will
help our economy remain prosperous and
economically competitive.
• Nurture the understanding that people can see
things differently – and that those differences merit
respect rather than persecution.

12. Goals / Objectives of Education
• Helping the learner to be able to rise to the full
height as a human being.
• Making the learner a ―well educated person‖ for
the latter half of the 21st century.
• ―Awakening the learner within‖
• Remove learning phobias
• When the student (learner) is
ready, the teacher will appear.

13. The Learning Cycle of an Enquiring Mind
Asking the Right Question(s)?
• Seeking Information
• Analyzing Information
• Organizing Information
• Presenting Information
• Persuading others about
one‘s views
• Reflecting & Raising New
Questions

14. The Future is Completely Different
from the Past
• In the past, educated persons have demonstrated different
knowledge and skill sets.
• I have been exploring what would be
the attributes of an ‗educated person‘
in the future.
• Some research led me to views of
leading Institutions ( Harvard and
Princeton) and thought leaders on
the same.
• Oliver Van Demille‘s [ American author and Educator] ‗A
Thomas Jefferson Education‘ included Harvard‘s list, in
addition to two others.

15. Harvard’s list of 10 Skills of an educated
person
• The ability to define problems without a guide.
• The ability to ask hard questions which challenge
prevailing assumptions.
• The ability to quickly assimilate needed data from
masses of irrelevant information.
• The ability to work in teams
without guidance.
• The ability to work absolutely
alone.

16. Harvard’s list (cont…)
• The ability to persuade others that your course is
the right one.
• The ability to conceptualize and reorganize
information into new patterns.
• The ability to discuss ideas with an eye toward
application.
• The ability to think inductively, deductively and
dialectically.
• The ability to attack problems
heuristically.

17. Princeton’s List of Skills
• The ability to think, speak, and write clearly.
• The ability to reason critically and systematically.
• The ability to conceptualize and solve problems.
• The ability to think independently.
• The ability to take initiative and work
independently.
• The ability to work in cooperation
with others and learn collaboratively.

18. Princeton’s List (cont…)
• The ability to judge what it means to understand
something thoroughly.
• The ability to distinguish the important from the trivial,
the enduring from the ephemeral.
• Familiarity with the different modes of thought (including
quantitative, historical, scientific, and aesthetic.)
• Depth of knowledge in a particular field.
• The ability to see connections among disciplines, ideas
and cultures.
• The ability to pursue life long learning.

19. "In 5 years from now, the best
education will come from the web.”
— Bill Gates ( 6th August 2010)

20. But why?
• He believes the web is where people will be learning in
five years from now, not Colleges and University.
• During his chat he said: Five years from ( 6th August
2010) now on the web for free you‘ll be able to find the
best lectures in the world. It will be better than any single
University.
• Gates‘ reasoning is based on the assumption that
education away from the classroom should count as
credit. So if MIT release courses on the web, a student
should be able to study them at home and get credit for
doing so.

21. Horizon Report Predictions on use of
Technology in Education
Time to adoption horizon one year or less:
• 2011: Electronic Books ; Mobiles
• 2012: Mobile Apps ; Tablet Computing
• 2013: Massively Open Online Courses ; Tablet
Computing

22. Horizon Report Predictions on use of
Technology in Education
Time to adoption horizon 2 to 3 years:
• 2011: Augmented Reality; Game Based Learning
• 2012: Games Based Learning; Learning Analytics
• 2013: Games and Gamification; Learning Analytics

23. Horizon Report Predictions on use of
Technology in Education
Time to adoption horizon 4 to 5 years:
• 2011: Gesture Based Computing; Learning Analytics
• 2012: Gesture Based
Computing; Internet
of things
• 2013: 3D Printing ;
Wearable Computing

24. 6 Reasons: Why Tablets are ready for use
in class?
• Tablets are the best way to provide knowledge
• Students are ready for Tablets
• Classrooms are ready for Tablets
• Tablets fit into student lifestyle
• Tablets are a great way to
access the web
• Tablets are becoming more
affordable (with built-in
phone).

25. New Pedagogy
• All pedagogical principles were developed in the
context of young learners in a classroom for pre-
defined learning outcomes.
• Then there was ‗andragogy‘ by Malcolm Knowles for
adult learning.
• We are now in the situation of life-long learning and
development of generic skills of learning and thinking.
• We have named this new methodology ‗Live
Learning‘.

26. The Disruptive Innovation in
Education is Personalisation
• By creating a Personalised Learning Environment for
each learner
• Speaking Mathematically it is a function of 3 variables:
PLE (Parent, Learner, Educator)
• PLEs allow learners to draw connections amongst a
matrix of resources that they select and organize to
direct their own learning.
• PLEs emphasize metacognition enabling students to
consider and reflect upon the tools and resources that
facilitate their learning.

27. A PLE Transforms the Attitude
of the Learner
• A terrified learner (petrified)
• A reluctant learner
• A hesitant learner
• An interested learner
• An enthusiastic learner
• An excited learner
• A passionate learner
• A gifted learner

28. The Personalized Learning Experience
Creates Teachable Moments
• An aha moment
• A jaw dropping moment
• The epiphanic moment
• The Eureka moment
• The Sputnik moment

29. Education for the 2nd Strand
• Altruism
• Character
• Coping with failure
• Courage
• Curiosity
• Empathy
• Grit
• Optimism
• Perseverance

30. The Soul of a ‘Great' Education?
• An ordinary education prepares a person for known roles.
• A great (quality) education prepares the learner to succeed,
flourish, prosper and thrive in an unknown and uncertain
future.
• Once the learner enters the orbit of self-learnability he can be
put in various orbits of knowledge complexity and his
trajectories managed by a ‗mission control‘.
• The learner is thus a life-long learner continuously guided by
not just one, but a community of ‗educators' who are not only
discipline based academic experts, but also psychologists,
neuro-scientists and data and information specialists as well.

31. India can be the hub for Educational Apps
• We are almost uniquely placed to
develop the new education model
for the whole world.
• An opportunity for individuals,
organisations, both Indian and
foreign, to join in this wonderful and
exciting opportunity
• We need to create an Eco-system
to make this happen
• Our strong domestic market mirrors
the global market

32. MOOCs as the new Paradigm
• The term MOOC was coined in
2008 during a course called
"Connectivism and Connective
Knowledge"
• 25 tuition-paying students in
Extended Education at the
University of Manitoba
• Another 2,300 students from
the general public took the
online class free of charge.

33. Stanford University
• In the Fall of 2011 Stanford University launched 3
courses, each of which had an enrollment of about
100,000.

34. Some well known MOOCs or MOOC like
• Coursera
• Udacity
• edX
• Academic Room
• Canvas Network
• CourseSites
• Academic Partnerships (a company that helps public
universities move their courses online)
• Udemy
• Straighterline

35. Classrooms of 10,000
• MOOCs are Large scale.
• Traditional classes have a small
ratio of students to teacher, but
MOOCs are designed to have a
"massive" number of students.
• Other features are typically open
licensing of content, open structure
and learning goals, community-
centeredness, etc. but may not be
present in all MOOCs

36. Launching a MOOC in a few easy steps
• Pick a topic of personal interest and expertise that
requires discussions
• Preferably a topic that you already teach ; just do it in the
open
• Focus on audience: Students, Faculty, Life-long learners
• Use team teaching : have a colleague to teach with, from
a different perspective
• Bring in guest speakers, video interviews
• Treat content as the starting point of the learning
conversation, articles, videos, interactive presentations,
conference recordings/proceedings etc.
• Leave room for learners to create/share

37. Some Major concerns regarding MOOCs ?
• How to you certify the identities of the learners?
• How do you assess the learning acquired by
large number of learners?
• What about 'currency' and credit transfers?

38. Learning Analytics
• Learning analytics is the
measurement, collection,
analysis and reporting of
data about learners and
their contexts, for purposes
of understanding and
optimising learning and the
environments in which it
occurs
• A related field is
educational data mining.

39. The Drivers of Learning Analytics
• The increasing interest in 'big data' for business
intelligence
• The rise of online education
• Emergence of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs),
Content Management Systems (CMSs), and
Management Information Systems (MIS) for education
• Manifold increase in digital data regarding student
background (often held in the MIS) and learning log data
(from VLEs).

40. The Techniques and Methods
of Learning Analytics
• Learning Analytics uses several
techniques and approaches from
different disciplines.
• Mathematical techniques (network
and graph theory),
• Sociological approaches to social
networks
• Statistical methods for predictive
modeling of successful learner
behaviour.

41. Open Courseware Consortium
• In February 2005, the first meeting of the
OpenCourseWare Consortium was held at MIT.
• Extend the reach and impact of open courseware by
encouraging the adoption and adaptation of open
educational materials around the world.
• Foster the development of additional open courseware
projects.
• Ensure the long-term sustainability of open courseware
projects by identifying ways to improve effectiveness and
reduce costs.

42. UNESCO Declaration on OER
• The World OER Congress held at UNESCO, Paris on 20-22
June 2012.
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 26.1),
which states that: ―Everyone has the right to education‖.
• The International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (Article 13.1), which recognizes ―the right of
everyone to education‖.
• The 1971 Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary
and Artistic Works and the 1996 WIPO Copyright Treaty.
• The Millennium Declaration and the 2000 Dakar Framework
for Action, which made global commitments to provide
quality basic education for all children, youth and adults.

43. Backdrop to Open Education Resources
• 2007 Cape Town Open Education Declaration.
• The 2009 Dakar Declaration on Open Educational
Resources.
• The 2011 Commonwealth of Learning and UNESCO
Guidelines on Open Educational Resources in Higher
Education.
• Noting that Open Educational Resources (OER) promote
the aims of the international statements quoted above.

44. Recommends that States within their
Capacities and Authority
• Foster awareness and use of OER.
• Facilitate enabling environments for use of Information and
Communications Technologies (ICT).
• Reinforce the development of strategies and policies on
OER.
• Promote the understanding and use of open licensing
frameworks.
• Support capacity building for the sustainable development
of quality learning materials.

45. A quick Glance at other Technologies
• Gamification
• Augmented Reality
• Wearable Computers
• The Internet of things
• Gesture Based
Computing

46. Quoting Max Mueller
"If I were asked under what sky
the human mind has most fully
developed some of its choicest
gifts, has most deeply
pondered over the greatest
problems of life, and has found
solutions of some of them
which well deserve the
attention even of those who
have studied Plato and Kant, I
should point to India.’’

47. Quoting Romain Rolland
(French Writer, 1866-1944)
“If there is one place
on the face of earth
where all the dreams of
living men have found
a home from the very
earliest days when
man began the dream
of existence, it is
India.”

48. Margaret Mead
US anthropologist & popularizer of anthropology (1901 - 1978)
“Never doubt that a small
group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can
change the world. Indeed, it
is the only thing that ever
has.”

49. Prof. Elinor Ostrom
Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (2009)
• American economist Elinor Ostrom has
officially become the first woman
awarded the the Nobel Prize in
Economic Science.
• Professor Ostrom is a leading scholar in
common pool resources.
• A common pool resource (in economics)
is a natural or human-made resource
system that is considered a 'common
property‗ resource.
• The Nobel judges cited Ostrom's
'analysis of economic governance,
especially the commons' as the reason
why Ostrom was awarded this coveted
prize.

50. Thank you !
Email: mmpant@gmail.com
Website: www.mmpant.net
http://mmpant.wordpress.com/