Education, like Industry has its own (r) evolution. From long years of teacher-centered lectures and memorization, education is practically at our fingertips with internet-enabled learning that gave rise to e-learning-where learning content is available 24/7. The rise and proliferation of internet-enabled learning made possible the creation of a knowledge-based economy, where new and creative ideas were transformed or are being transformed into new business opportunities. Now, we are experiencing exponential technology advancement brought about by Industry 4.0, where connectivity is the core of innovation. Will our current education system produce the needed workforce for 21st century jobs? Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft said” Our existing system suits the industrialization era- producing disciplined manpower to work in a linear process model. There is not a need to reform our current education system, but a need to replace them completely to address 21st century challenges.” The advent of disruptive technologies brought about by the velocity of technological advancement enabled by internet connectivity make current educational practices inadequate if not unsuitable to the learning needs for 21st changing technology requires corresponding new learning technology. century jobs. New, complex, and fast We cannot teach 21st century learners with 20th century methods. There is an urgent need to develop a different breed of workers where job unheard of in the past have become necessary for the21st century economy. Many of the existing jobs are being taken over by machines where technology advances at lightning speed. Our economic environment is characterized by user-machine interface, machine to machine synchronicity and interaction enabled by cyber-connectivity. This spells both as a n opportunity and a threat to our current learning approaches and theemployability of our workforce. With the increasing convergence of digital technologies in the production of goods and services, collaborative approaches among education professionals and industry practitioners will be critical in establishing teamwork in a multi-disciplinary learning environment. Teamwork is necessary in project-based learning, which is the fundamental process in the convergence of ideas and expertise needed in the production of new and innovative goods and services.Developing a workforce to meet present and future market needs postulates the identification of required competencies.Competencies are defined as the set of skills, abilities, knowledge, attitudes and motivations an individual needs to cope with job-related tasks and challenges effectively.
EDUCATION 4.0 – THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION
While historically Technology creates more jobs than it destroys, the newly created jobs must be encouraged by effective workforce development. All revolutions are disruptive and Industry 4.0 is no exception. It poses risks, but offers tremendous opportunities: for new products and services, better ways to serve customers, new types of jobs, and wholly new business models. As with previous industrial revolutions, the impact of these changes has the potential to ripple across industries, businesses and communities. Affecting not just how we work, but how we live and relate with each other.
According to a World Bank Report, the magnitude of the 4th industrial Revolution’s impact on jobs seem to be associated with a workers’ skill level, andwhat determines vulnerability to automation, seems to be whether the task is routine. Some studies predict that lower-skilled jobs will be most affected. Others predict that middle-level skills jobs will be impacted. According to a McKinsey Global Institute study in 46 countries, almost half of the work activities globally have the potential to be automated. Helping workers acquire new skills is crucial. Education then must ensure that our learners are well equipped and competent to secure productive employment in their chosen careers through technology-driven learning thatis tightly aligned with the practical needs of the economy, complete with competency assessment and industry recognized certification.
Among the many discussions, innovations and general shifts in the world of learning – from school children to business executive – there are 9 trends that stand out:
DIVERSE TIME AND PLACE Students will have more opportunities to learn at different times in different places. e-Learning tools facilitate opportunities for remote, self-paced learning. Classrooms will be flipped, which means the theoretical part is learned outside the classroom, whereas the practical part shall be taught face to face, interactively.
PERSONALIZED LEARNING. Students will learn with study tools that adapt to the capabilities of a student. This means above average students shall be challenged with harder tasks and questions when a certain level is achieved. Students who experience difficulties with a subject will get the opportunity to practice more until they reach the required level. Students will be positively reinforced during their individual learning processes. This can result in to positive learning experiences and will diminish the amount of studentslosing confidence about their academic abilities. Furthermore, teachers will be able to see clearly which students need help in which areas.
FREE CHOICE for the same destination, the road leading for the same destination, the road leading towards that destination can vary per student. Similarly to the personalized learning experience, students will be able to modify their learning process with tools they feel are necessary for them. Students will learn with different devices, different programs and techniques based on their own preference. Blended learning, flipped classrooms and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) form important terminology within this change.
PROJECT BASED As careers are adapting to the future freelance economy, students of today will adapt to project based learning and working. This means they have to learn how to apply their skills in shorter terms to a variety of situations. Students should already get acquainted with project based learning in high school. This is when organizational, collaborative, and time management skills can be taught as basics that every student can use in their further academic careers.
FIELD EXPERIENCE Because technology can facilitate more efficiency in certain domains, curricula will make room for skills that solely require human knowledge and face-to-face interaction. Thus, experience in ‘the field’ will be emphasized within courses. Schools will provide more opportunities for students to obtain real-world skills that are representative to their jobs. This means curricula will create more room for students to fulfill internships, mentoring projects and collaboration projects (e.g. data interpretation). Though mathematics is considered one of three literacies, it is without a doubt that the manual part of this literacy will become irrelevant in the near future. Computers will soon take care of every statistical analysis, and describe and analyze data and predict future trends. Therefore, the human interpretation of these data will become a much more important part of the future curricula. Applying the theoretical knowledge to numbers, and using human reasoning to infer logic and trends from these data will become a fundamental new aspect of this literacy.
EXAMS WILL CHANGE COMPLETELY As courseware platforms will assess learner capabilities at each step, measuring their competencies through Q&A might become irrelevant, or might not suffice. Many argue that exams are now designed in such a way, that students cram their materials, and forget the next day. Educators worry that exams might not validly measure what students should be capable of when they enter their first job. As the factual knowledge of a student can be measured during their learning process, the application of their knowledge is best tested when they work on projects in the field.
STUDENT OWNERSHIP Students will become more and more involved in forming their curricula. Maintaining a curriculum that is contemporary, up-to-date and useful is only realistic when professionals as well as ‘youngsters’ are involved. Critical input from students on the content and durability of their courses is a must for an all-embracing study program. As per findings of the MMB Institute of Germany based from the analysis of 26 Indeed, many of the changes underway call to mind the evocative words of Irish poet William Butler Yeats that, “Education is not about filling a bucket but lighting a fire”
Studies, analysis and research reports from the past 3 years, the required competencies for Industry 4.0 can be grouped into four major categories:
- Technical Skills Basic and specialist knowledge from a person’s own specialty/discipline
- Data and IT Skills Control, use, checking of data-base systems, data analysis, data security/data protection, etc.
- Social Skills Interdisciplinary cooperation, project management, communication skills, organizational and leadership competence, etc.
- Personal SkillsSelf-initiated learning skills, analytical thinking, problem solver mindset, capacity for abstract thought, openness, flexibility, etc.
The study also pointed out a widespread consensus that continuing professional development will have to thread new paths to achieve a workplace-based and process-oriented, customizable, informal learning process encompassing the use of digital learning technologies.And finally, the important factor for employability is the skills certification, which is preferably coming from the industry, such as those coming from Siemens, National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) and the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC). It will be easier for the learners to get certified if they have the right skills developed in the proposed platform.
