FUTURE OF EDUCATION- VIRTUAL SCHOOLS OF TOMORROW : DECODING UNCERTAINTIES OF NEW ECONOMY DIGITAL CURRICULUM PLATFORMS
Founder spotlight featuring Mr Thuso Othusitse co-founder at startup : CLASSMATE
- Classmate is currently at 40000+ users across schools in Botswana
- Classmate has traction parnership with telco- Botswana Telecommunications Corporation — BTC
-Classmate is co-founded as an EdTech startup.
We share some highlights on why Classmate is creating a platform for digital content for SCHOOLS OF TOMORROW in Botswana. To understand deeper the digital impact of EdTech startups we give some facts;
1. There is a growing global consensus that 21st-century learning ought to look rather different from 19th-century learning but that in practice, for the vast majority of learners, it does not.
2. The NEW ECONOMY challenges schools going beyond certificate-centricity, schools of tomorrow should consider certificates as an outcome by the way, and focus on real-life skills and literacies outlined above.
3. New learning curriculum and digital literacy must be mobile centric, offer to collaborate with a myriad of learning systems, adapt to experiential brick and portal learning, focus on mentoring rather than teaching, and make education choice-based and learner centric. It must integrate formal with self-learning modules and skills. It should be focused on today and tomorrow more than yesterday, and on application of knowledge more than knowledge per se. It should create the human resources of tomorrow for economy yet not seen, rather than labour force for the economy of yesterday.
4. The schools of tomorrow must hence prepare talent for Digital Marketers, Animators-Designers, Artificial Intelligence Engineers, Strategists, Market Researchers, Content Developers, Law Experts, Finance Experts, Multi-linguists, Behavioral Scientists, Entrepreneurs, Robotics Engineers, Communicators, Applied Scientists, Pharmacists, Design Thinkers & Designers, Big Data Analysts & Data Managers, Campaign Managers, et al.
5. The approach of mentoring-learning in schools of tomorrow hence will include a blend of classroom learning (Formal), Workshop based learning (Hands-on), Peer Learning, Experiential Learning (Projects), Real Life Experiences (Internship), Case-study based Learning, Internet based Learning, Video-conferencing, International Learning (global exposure), Research based Learning, Degree & Beyond, Skill & Portfolio focus, Team-work, Problem Solving Learning.
6. Digital mobile tech needs to be at the heart of education. The opportunities and challenges of ICT for learning could be funded through organisations like UNICEF.
7. New learning frameworks are emerging, many in response to UNESCO’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development an aspirational and universal agenda to wipe out poverty through sustainable development by 2030, which captures ambitions for digital education. Lessons from system stories — Singapore, Finland, Estonia, New Zealand and Brazil can be customised to countries like Botswana through partnerships with startups.
8. International academic, policy and provider organizations are in the process of rethinking learning outcomes and learning environments, and some are even engaged in a fundamental review of the very purpose of education in a more digitally enabled, complex and fast changing world. Lessons from in-depth innovator and provider case studies can be documented in collaboration with startups like Classmate, Africa Code Week and other new smart initiatives. Champions such Brendan Speedie Smith could export their intelligence and insights into Africa.
9. Skill-sets for the New Economy as part new education curriculum is still an open area for innovators. Foundational literacies as to how learners apply core skills to everyday tasks remain as they were in Africa and are a big challenge today. These are basic literacy, numeracy, scientific literacy, ICT literacy, financial literacy, cultural and civic literacy. These remain the foundation of learning and as part of new economy skills; learners need now to learn competencies about how learners approach complex challenges. These, in the Knowledge Economy with Artificial Intelligence as a major characteristic, are problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration. These are the core competencies of today. These could be deployed with teaching of CODING in all schools in Africa.
10. The future school earns leadership, supports the virtual education platforms and content, understands technology, leads by example, embraces vulnerability, reaps collective intelligence, challenges convention, gives real-time feedback and recognition, and has dynamic evolving boundaries. This is how education has shifted and must be adapted with the support of innovators and startups in Africa.
We keep building NGWANA AFRICA
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