Reimagining Education: Building a New Value Model for the Future

 

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Technological advancements impact education systems and require educators to adapt to these changes. Education is becoming increasingly decentralized and the primary business model of most educational organizations, based on offering credentials, is quickly diminishing. The introduction of the internet pushed forward a permissionless model outside the confines of educational institutions, offering free online certificates that bypassed their authority. Educational organizations will have to build a new value model based on experimentation, risk-taking and data collection to remain relevant.

Since the advent of television, the traditional education system has been in a continuous state of discombobulation. Rather than make modifications, many leaders of the post-medieval model of education chose fortification rather than adaptation. This meant creating higher walls, longer moats, and deeper chambers to maintain authority and control. Educational institutions initiated a vast wave of professionalization and credentialization. The implications of this shift have been extensive, reaching into every facet of society.

Any footing gained by the educational establishment in term of professionalization was obliterated by the emergence of the internet. The internet pushed forward a permissionless system that fully functioned outside the confines and authorities of the higher education establishment. While educational institutions offered a certificate in computer technology a person in an apartment down the street could offer the same certificate online, anytime, for free to millions of learners. Online learning continued to expand with a multitude of options from private companies to meet a growing demand from learners who could not fit within the confines of a traditional education model.

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The next technological shift initiated by mobile devices created another series of dynamics that would directly impact educational systems. The mobile phone quickly became the most effective learning tool in human civilization. While many traditional education systems focused on policies and procedures to limit and restrict the use of digital devices in the classroom, learners used their phones to discover everything the institution could not provide. Soon learners could leave educational institutions entirely and gain ready to use information to achieve their goals.  All of this was done without professors, administrators, registrar, chairs, managers, associate deans, deans, associate vice-presidents, or president – just a phone, internet, app, and a global classroom of distributed wisdom.  

Education is becoming increasingly decentralized - meaning the idea of an educational institution serving as the fixed knowledge or employment gateway of a community, region, state, or nation continues to erode. The primary business model of most educational organizations that is based on offering credentials is also quickly diminishing. A growing number of industries are turning away from degree requirements or building their own training systems to onboard students out of high school. Previously, society was so deeply structured around the education system that it was a part of the life planning process for most people. Now learners have an array of opportunities with different options in terms of time, cost, and quality. 

This doesn’t mean education institutions, degrees, and certificates will be obsolete. It means the educational community of leaders, faculty, and staff will have to come together and build an entirely new value model for their organization. It will start by looking within, taking risks, experimentation, shredding policies, collecting data, and continuously improving. Educational organizations have deep and rich untapped or underutilized talent pools; now is the time for authentic engagement in building a different future. This shift will require a new type of interdisciplinary thinking and a reimagining of the relationship between the tower, the cloud, and community. This process will not be easy but avoiding the conversation now will cause far more problems in the future. 

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I work with educational and training organizations to develop high quality learning solutions. I have worked in higher education and consulting for 15 years in teaching, instructional design, faculty development, education technology, program development, quality assurance, research, and innovation. I can be reached at mark[at]rhizome.ca

 Take a look at my latest publication on improving academic programs: 

Learning Program Life Cycle: A Practitioner's Guide