New Forecast Signals

Originally posted to "Future of Ed Blog", March 17th, 2010
by Jillian Darwish

Several times a week we update this blog with an in-depth look at emerging trends, their application, and “big picture” implications. As background to this work we are constantly researching new resources and “signals” to add to the Forecast database that provide great examples of the “future that is already here.”

Every so often, we will highlight some of the things our team is uncovering. Here are just a few things we have found interesting lately.

The Metaverse
SitePal, a company that designs speaking avatars for websites has created a free web-based tool that that converts text to speech in 20 languages. This might be a really interesting foreign language for adaptive technology tool for an innovative teacher.

Platforms for Resilience
Citizen Schools is a nonprofit organization built on the recognition that students spend just 20% of their time in schools, that every community is blessed with tremendous learning resources, and that people learn by doing. In their own words, they “mobilize a second shift of afternoon educators, who provide academic support, leadership development, and apprenticeships: hands-on projects taught by volunteer experts. Citizen Schools is at the forefront of a movement to educate children, strengthen communities, and increase access to the American Dream.

Smart Localism
As part of the Platforms for Resilience conversation, we are witnessing a growth in smart localism. A new example of this trend comes as backlash to the recent financial meltdown. Check out Move Your Money, a volunteer movement described as thousands of people pledging to “move their money away from the casino-style Too Big To Fail banks and give their money to community banks and credit unions.”

Shadow Schools
School of One has completely reorganized the classroom and learning experience. A profile for every student is created based upon assessments, and parent and teacher surveys. This data creates an initial hypothesis for how each student learns best. Utilizing a complex learning algorithm, the individual profile is married with a database of different types of learning opportunities including teacher-led instruction, small group learning and more. The algorithm produces a daily “playlist” for students and teachers that move them through a variety of different types of learning experiences customized to meet the individual needs of learners.

What interesting developments have you seen?