2020 is upon us  - DYSTOPIAN or UTOPIAN.

Film makers more than 30 years ago speculated and created lavish, often dark, representations of what 2020 would bring.  Well, we've finally arrived and while it feels that things may not be as advanced as the movies predicted.  On the other hand, 30 years ago we didn't have the internet, the Nokia 3310 was released only 20 years ago, 30 years ago we didn't have Playstation, Google, iPhone, consumer VR, we didn't even have ready access to consumer level digital cameras...

For many of us entering 2020 we have to be asking about what lies ahead.   The educational landscape is always subject to the shifts and changes in business, technology, and political activity.

For us in the Learning Futures Network - we know that we have to address the Schools Innovation Projects work we committed to in 2019.  We know we need to work together more collaboratively with other members. 

I look forward to building upon the relationships we've already established, and assisting with the visionary work that has the potential to make our education systems more adaptive and responsive to changing global needs and expectations.  

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The Consortium of Schools Networking Driving K-12 Innovation project's 2020 report highlights some of the priorities that we will need to consider.

This is the second report I've contributed to and the refinement process this year seemed to generate a lot more considered discussion with more and more insights into the interconnectedness of all the contenders for the list.  It reiterates the challenges of complexity we all face in contemporary education and insists that single variable solutions are illusory distractions from the real tasks of transforming learning. The process this year also highlighted the importance of contextual considerations, and that educational policy and established "ways of working" are still sometimes anathema to innovation.

Interestingly, the discussion and focus of the report is shifting away from specific technologies and more towards the processes and practices that have the potential to transform education.

Accelerators

1. Learners as creators, giving students real-world learning experiences;
2. Data-driven practices, the use of data to help make decisions in all aspects of school operation;
3. Personalization, to provide individualized learning paths and promote student voice and choice;
4. Social and emotional learning; and
5. Building the human capacity of leaders, giving and taking opportunities for people to learn new skills.

1. Scaling and sustaining innovation, growing new practices from a few classrooms to the entire school or district;
2. Data privacy and ownership;
3. Evolution of teaching and learning;
4. Pedagogy versus the technology gap, helping teachers understand the research behind new technology usage and helping them develop their skills; and
5. Digital equity, making sure every student has access to broadband and digital tools as they need them.

1. Digital collaboration platforms;
2. Tools for privacy and safety online;
3. Analytics and adaptive technologies in learning, which can help customize learning experiences, build on areas of student strength and target support.
4. Cloud infrastructure, which allows school systems to move their hardware and software away from physical locations and make them available anywhere; and
5. Mobile devices, which can enable access to content and activities anytime, anywhere.