Vision of the Future of EducationRobinder KahlonUniversity of Ontario Institute of TechnologyRunning head: VISION OF THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION 1

VISION OF THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION 16

His slaves had been working since dawn. It was now 11:00am and the heat was scorching. The slaves' vital statistics slowly migrated into the danger zone on the screen in his hands; body temperatures rising, heart rates rising. Bodhi estimated that he could only get another half an hour out of them. Any longer and their productivity would be compromised for the rest of the day.Sand blew over the landscape, pushed by a warm wind from the west. The sun beat down on them relentlessly. The desert was a harsh environment in which to conduct this project. "This isn't working," he grumbled to the Assistant, Ruby."The sand is too soft for the wheels," she said, "I told you!"Ruby was 9, Bodhi was 11, but age was not a factor in determining their positions, only experience. This was Bodhi's first experience as Manager; he had been Assistant on several projects in the last few years. Ruby had slightly less experience, but had proven herself to be exceptional. If they achieved their goals on this project, she'd be a managing a project by next year."It's killing them to pull that train," he observed, without sympathy.They watched as at least a dozen slaves strained themselves, ropes slung over their shoulders, towing the train. The train was a platform being pulled over top 7 large stone wheels. Atop of the platform rested a 1-ton stone. Every 3.6 meters, the circumference of each massive wheel, other slaves would go into action, transferring the wheel from the back of the train to the front, allowing the platform to roll another 3.6 meters. Each wheel was a huge carved stone cylinder with an axle running through it. Ropes were attached to the axle to allow the slaves to reposition the wheel from the back to the front, but it was a lengthy and exhausting process dragging the wheel over the sandy terrain.But it was the best idea Bodhi had come up with all month. Out of his allotted 72 slaves, 19 slaves had died, had winked out of existence. This morning, 7 more were dangerously close.It was time to call a team meeting. He opened a channel of communication to his other assistants."Team Channel Delta, he called out, Halt progress, team meeting." Instantly, the slaves froze in place. 3 human figures, the other members of his team, emerged from the unmoving slaves, walking towards Bodhi and Ruby.The prospect of not being the first team to finish made him nauseous. Cooperation was encouraged within teams, but competition was promoted between teams. They were positioned closely enough together so as to be able to see each others progress.[footnoteRef:1] He looked behind his team, far off in the distance, and watched Team Gamma. They had managed to move 7 stones this week, making a respectable start on their foundation, while Team Delta had not moved even one. How was this pyramid ever going to get built?[footnoteRef:2] [1: the combination of game theory with the use of friendly competitions provides a strong motivation for students; helping to increase their performance. (Burguillo, 2010)] [2: Serious games are designed to promote active participation and interaction as the centre of the experience, instead of pure entertainment. (Burguillo, 2010)]

Alistair watched as he sat a table in the cafe. The weather program had been cruel to the Learners this week. Temperatures peaked in the mid-40s, no cloud cover, no rain, occasional sandstorms sending teams running for cover. Team Delta was demoralized. Bodhi had not visited him once at the cafe, probably going straight home after his shift. In fact, it was mid-week and Alistair had not received a visit from a single one of the 5 team managers. Perhaps he should wander through the facility for a visit?He lifted the VR helmet off of his head, taking leave of the Egyptian desert and took in his actual surroundings.[footnoteRef:3] He was on Queen Street, in the Beaches neighbourhood of eastern Toronto. He was not retired, though he had accepted a 'retirement package' back in the 20s from the now defunct school board. He had been in his 50s then, and was promised plenty of work as the system transitioned into its modern form. [3: 3-D virtual environments afford the facilitation of tasks that lead to enhanced spatial knowledge representation, greater opportunities for experiential learning, increased motivation/engagement, improved contextualisation of learning and richer/more effective collaborative learning as compared to tasks made possible by 2-D alternatives. (Dalgarno, 2010)]

He had been principal of a bustling school of 600 children, aged 11 to 14, buffeted with issues from the moment we checked his mobile device in the morning to when he shut it off after dinner, drinking coffee all day and scotch in the evening, just to survive a stress level that he would not have wished upon anybody. And now? Sipping tea in a cafe at mid-day, apparently without responsibility, available if anyone choose to drop by to see him. Was he really still an educator? He touched the screen on his table to pay his bill and strode out to the street, heading west towards the Facility, a half hour walk away. If they wouldn't come to him, he would go to them.

The team meeting was not going well. Bodhi was venting his frustration at his team, while their own frustrations had to be repressed. They were careful around him, all except for Ruby, who didnt seem to care about his demeanor. She continued to make little requests for side projects involving finding sources of water, or testing clay, as if she was in her own world, but he ignored her.Bodhis management style left much to be desired in the hearts of his teammates. He had always scored strongly in assessments regarding innovation, project management, and materials knowledge, but rather weak in communication and team-building.As the meeting ended, he delegated Ruby to manage the slaves for the rest of the day, carrying on with the existing plan, while he went home to clear his mind and rest. Bodhi intoned into the air, "Team Channel Delta. Logout."As he pulled off his helmet, the scene that had surrounded him disappeared. Instead of a sprawling sand-strewn landscape with 4 sunburnt teammates, he saw a cavernous, warehouse-like structure built on a concrete slab with a steel roof and ceiling trusses, empty except for small groups of Learners at vast distances. Ruby and the rest of the team had their helmets on and animatedly carried on with their activities, oblivious to their Manager, who had disappeared, characteristically, without saying goodbye.It was time to go home, to sleep, to mope. There was nothing else to do at home. His life was here, in the Facility. It had been here for the last 3 years since he had been lucky enough to have been accepted into this Facility. He did not know the concepts of work or play. In Bodhi's mind, there wasn't even a name for what he did. It was just what he did.[footnoteRef:4] [4: Work and leisure will be interlaced throughout waking hours, every day of the week. (Anderson, 2010)]

Alistair was called a Consultant. Not in the old sense of the word, not a freelance worker for hire. His mission was to be available for consultation by Learners as they wished. They could visit him at the cafe, most days of the week, or occasionally he would stroll down to the Facility, a half hour walk from here, in the old Studio district. The gigantic film studios from the turn of the century had all been converted into Facilities. He would wander through the groups of Learners, donning his helmet, giving Learners access to communicate with him in their environment, asking him key questions to which he would respond with a wise observation.[footnoteRef:5] [5: the transmittal model is outdated and will not be effective for the twenty-first century, when individuals will be expected to think for themselves, pose and solve complex problems, and generally produce knowledge rather than reproduce it. (King, 1993)]

As Alistair approached the building, Bodhi came out of the door, blinking at the sunlight. Bodhi saw him and ambled towards him, clearly despondent. Boys had trembled when they had approached him, both when he was a principal and prior to this, when he was a teacher. He had been a teacher of Social Science and had held his students attention with a mixture of tyranny and distraction. He had perfected the icy look, routinely employed the threat of low marks, and occasionally, when in an emergency, used his magic bullet: calling their parents. The combination of these disciplinary techniques, and a program peppered with the colouring of maps, watching of movies, research on the Net, and lengthy in-class assignments, he had been able to hold his students' attention through 55-minute doses of Social Science. The Learners for whom he consulted now would be shocked if he ever raised an angry eyebrow at them. The divisions between Mathematics, English, Science, and all other subjects had passed into memory as the system had evolved.[footnoteRef:6] [6: [Interdisciplinary education fosters] greater motivation to learn and to deal with complex issues and problems, a more reflective stance and ability to grasp complex concepts, increased capability of synthesizing learning into a meaningful whole, and enhanced high-level critical thinking. (Klein, 2006)]

In the projects currently underway in Facilities worldwide, every conceivable skill was required to succeed, but no specific time was allocated to learn any of them, and no curriculum existed for them. Bodhi, who approached him now, would have been considered a master of mathematics, so quickly did he calculate the length of a ramp, of the rate of a round stone accelerating downhill, or the angle formed by two given lengths of a triangle. But he had never been taught any these concepts by a teacher'. He had researched them as needed from the Net, or learned them through other Learners in informal social gatherings that often took place after shifts.[footnoteRef:7] [7: learning through peer-group interaction results in cognitive benefits for each student far beyond those that an individual would experience working alone (King, 1993)]

A great deal of his current knowledge of technical measurements had been gleaned from his previous position as assistant on the Stonehenge project, where his manager had delegated all such tasks to him. Bodhi would be given a specific task, such as measuring the volume of an oddly shaped boulder, and would open a Net through his helmet, guiding himself through tutorials as they flashed up in his vision.Seeing him now, Alistair couldnt see any of the hidden genius, only a very perplexed-looking boy. Alistair nodded in acknowledgement.

"Alistair, I have learned about every simple machine that exists! The lever and the inclined plane were miserable failures! If this wheel and axle doesn't work, we're done for!" Alistair could feel the tension emanating from Bodhi."If I don't build this thing, I'll be stuck in Ancient Engineering forever!""Now, now, why didn't you come to visit me sooner?" Alistair said, soothingly.Bodhi glared at him, "I've signed up for every shift this week! I don't have time to go to your stupid coffee shop! It takes me 20 minutes just to get there! Why aren't you available online?"Alistair had had enough of this tantrum. He gently put a hand on Bodhi's head, rubbed it, and continued walking into the Facility, leaving Bodhi to his frustration."But what will I do! How will I finish the project?!" Bodhi cried after him.Alistair looked back over his shoulder. "That is not a question that I can answer. If you require any advice regarding teamwork, please drop by, and he disappeared into the doorway.

Teamwork. The old bastard was useless. Bodhi seethed with frustration. Teamwork had led them to plan, design and build a lever. This had taken them 10 days. 3 more days were taken up in testing until it had proved to be unable to move a single stone.The inclined plane had taken another week, and in testing, a huge stone had unexpectedly rolled back down the plane onto the slaves in its path, had taken the lives of 19 of them, leaving only 53, severely diminishing their labour capacity before the real work had even begun.Bodhi imagined himself finishing his pyramid the very last of all the teams, and being transferred to yet another Ancient Engineering project, yet another project in which there was limited materials to build technology, and limited information on the Net regarding best practices. In fact, the Net provided only bizarre baseless theories regarding the Engineering of these monuments.There probably aren't even any ancient structures left that I haven't built, he grumbled to himself. In the last 3 years, he had been an assistant on the Aqueduct, Macchu Pichu, and Stonehenge. If he didn't pass this project with the required efficiency, he was likely to be sent to the Nazca Lines project, in the arid desert of Peru.Stonehenge, surely after that project, the Pyramids should have been easy! He had watched groups use every conceivable simple machine to successfully move those stones.[footnoteRef:8] But out here, in the Egyptian desert, materials were few. There was no wood, very little water, and the sand had become a massive impediment. [8: In this constructivist view of learning, students use their own existing knowledge and prior experience to help them understand the new material. (King, 1993)]

In this hostile environment, senile old Alistair had the nerve to talk about teamwork?

Alistair called up the last round of Bodhi's assessments. Though all traditional subjects area classifications had disappeared, they had been replaced by plenty of assessment criteria. Bodhi had scored in the mid-range on the Communication rubric, and rather low on the Interpersonal Skills rubric. Bodhi had a particular weakness in Authentic Listening and Soliciting Ideas from Others.As an assistant, Bodhis deficiencies had had little impact on project efficiency. He had been effective at carrying out the instructions of his Manager, and of directing the slaves, who were, after all, computer-programmed drones, not requiring any Interpersonal skills to manage. But now, as Project Manager, his work had ground to a complete halt. Bodhi was self-centered, unable to listen to others, and shouldering the entire responsibility for the project on his own shoulders.Self-assessment files indicated that Bodhi was aware of this tendency, but didn't see it as an impediment to his progress. Alistair hoped that they boys struggles would push him to a breakthrough, would enlighten him.[footnoteRef:9] [9: deeper levels of student self-assessment are critical aspects of pedagogical processes aiming to encourage students to be substantively engaged in their classroom learning experiences (Munns, 2006)]

Bodhi lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, disgusted with himself, disgusted with his team. He had spent hours with his helmet on, in the Project Materials Centre, reviewing the Learning Objectives for the project, but could pick up on nothing that could help him.[footnoteRef:10] [10: The overarching goal [of learning objectives] is to empower learners through guided engagement with the course content while also encouraging discoveries, experiences, and interpretations as they interact within the learning community. (Roessingh, 2011)]

That bloody Ruby, obviously smart but always with the "I told you so" attitude. She'd never make it to Manager like that. There was a way to speak to your superiors, and she certainly didn't know it.He decided that he wouldn't even bother to travel to the facility for the rest of the week. Learners were not mandated to log a minimum number of hours on a project. They could sign up for as many or as few shifts as they required to meet their learning goals. Achievement of learning goals determined the next appropriate assignment. The Learner would be placed in the next project, just at the edge of his or her experience and skill.Bodhi had a tendency to sign up for an exorbitant number of shifts, as did the rest of his current team. But he was under no compulsion to appear at the Facility for those shifts. Presence at the Facility gave Learners a social environment in which to work, gave them face-to-face contact with Consultants and each other, but was not required. He resolved not to miss a single shift, but would log on remotely. He had no desire to see his teammates when the helmets came off.As an assistant, he had loved that moment when an intermediate goal of a project had been completed, and the team took their helmets off. The Manager would beam at them and a warm energy radiated through them all.He hadn't felt that in a long time. This team had completed several intermediate goals, but it had always seemed like an ordeal. When the helmets came off, Bodhi was already rushing to the exit.He decided that he would never end up in managing people as a career. It would be strictly the technical side for him.

While Alistair perused the assessments, he was amused to see that the collation of all assessments pointed to a career as an Industrial Engineering Project Manager. That he was suited to Industrial Engineering was clear enough. Though he had been Assistant, and now Manager, on several civil engineering projects, his industrial engineering skills had shone through. But Project Manager? Alistair noted that though the boy's demonstrated Interpersonal Skills had never been in the high range, he had tested high for Empathetic Capacity, predicting great potential as a Manager.Like anything else, there was no infrastructure to teach this skill in the Facilities. There were no classes, no teachers. Bodhi would simply had to learn it through from his experience.

Bloody Alistair, Bodhi cursed, as he sat on his bed with his helmet on, reviewing every team meeting in the last two weeks. There was Ruby, always piping up with some odd suggestion or request, completely out of touch with the reality of the situation. Enough about water and clay and pesky 9-year olds, he thought. If he could just find an efficient way to transport huge rocks 5 miles he would be the envy of all the teams in the Facility.

From his basement, Bodhi put on his helmet and logged in to the Facility. He called out, "Team Channel Delta. Team meeting."Within a minute, his team of four surrounded him."Give me an update," he demanded."It's working, but it's the slaves are too slow!" one assistant reported."We've moved one stone all way. They're getting stuck in the sand, Bodhi!" another complained."One stone?" Bodhi repeated, angrily.He checked the logs and saw that Ruby had spent the overnight shift night at the Facility, an unusual practice for Learners."What were you doing here last night, Ruby?""I had the slaves build a well," she said, with a subdued excitement.He felt the blood boil in his face, a violent energy coursed through his body. He was about to shout at her. He struggled to keep his mouth shut and he heard the words he was about to say in his head: "You worked the slaves overnight? No wonder we're getting so little productivity out of them today! I told you there wasn't enough water for a canal! What the hell were you thinking, Ruby?"But he said none of this. He walked away from the group for a moment, collected himself, and decided to say something he didn't want to say, but would say it just because Alistair would think it was right.He came back to the group, managed a fake smile, and asked, "Why did you build a well, Ruby?"Ruby spoke in a stilted voice into her visor, so that the speech-to-text program would make no mistakes, "Slave leader C, is the water tank full?"When she had received her response, she continued, "Slave leader C, transport water tank to my current location. Slave leader F, transport clay mixture to my current location."Ruby grinned as the other assistants shifted nervously in their spots.In the distance, the group watched as two carts were towed towards them by a group of slaves. It took several minutes for them to arrive, giving Bodhi enough time to calm himself and see what was about to transpire.Ruby did some quick direction of slaves both her voice-to-text and her screen, and slaves began to busily dig a hole in the sand, mixing a dark silt from one cart with the water from the other.The group watched as the mixture was stirred by a giant belt mixer, the belt tugged by 2 slaves, spinning the mixer. At Ruby's command, they stopped, removed the mixer, and began to pack up the carts for departure.The mixture in the ground began to solidify. Within 10 minutes, it appeared to be a solid sheet of mud. Bodhi knelt down and rubbed his hand across the surface. Solid. Then he knocked it with his fist. Completely solid."But Ruby, you know we can't make the pyramid out of another material. We must use the stones.""I know, but with cement"He finished her sentence, "We can build a road!"

Alistair watched from the coffee shop, unable to take his helmet off as the Team Deltas activity mushroomed.

By the end of the week, a system of cement roads had been built all over Team Deltas area. The other groups wondered what ingredients could possibly have been used to create cement? There was no limestone. And what of the high temperatures required for the cementation process?Alistair scoured the Net until he found obscure recipes for ancient cement using very specific types of clay. Rubys resourcefulness had served her well, not only in finding the cement recipe, but in finding the water and specific type of clay that were necessary to create it. And her resilience in the face of Bodhis attitude towards her had been remarkable.The 53 slaves had manufactured several operational trains, all hauling stones from the quarry 5 miles away, back to the building site. By the end of the week, the foundation of over 400 stones had been laid.

Im so glad you came to see me. You havent done an assessment in some time, Alistair remarked, warmly.Alistair and Bodhi sat in the coffee shop, helmets on, reviewing a month of team meetings as Bodhi completed his self-assessment. Bodhi glowed as he voice-recorded his achievements this week: restraining himself in a moment of anger, opening up to new ideas, and rejoicing in another person's success. He had successfully guided his team through a time of crisis, distributing his leadership to the group.Looks like youll be a Manager, yet, Alistair smiled at him. He knew that the boys struggles were not over, that there were innate tendencies for which he must always be vigilant, but the door had been opened to a new direction for his development, for the growth of his character.[footnoteRef:11] [11: By grappling with real-life challenges how to reach consensus in a class meeting students develop practical understanding of the requirements of fairness, co-operation and respect. (Lickona, 1996)]

Thanks, Alistair. Thanks for not telling me what to do.My days of being an expert are done, my boy.

References

Anderson, J. (2010) Remaking Education for a New Century. Retrieved from http://www.wfs.org/Dec09-Jan10/Anderson.htm Jan-Feb 2010Burguillo, J.C. (2010) Using Game-Theory and Competition-based Learning to Stimulate Student Motivation and Performance. Computers & Education, doi: 10.1016/ j.compedu.2010.02.018Dalgarno, B. & Lee, M. J. W. (2010) What are the learning affordances of 3-D virtual environments?, British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(1), 10-32Klein, J. T. (2006) A Platform for a Shared Discourse of Interdisciplinary Education. English Faculty Research Publications. Paper 3. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/englishfrp/3King, A. (1993) From sage on the stage to guide on the side. College Teaching, 41(1), 30-35.Lickona, T. (1996) Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education. Journal of Moral Education, 25:1, 93-100.Munns, G. & Woodward, H. (2006) Student engagement and student self-assessment: the REAL framework. Assessment in Education, 13(2), 193-213.Roessingh, H. & Chambers, W. (2011) Project-Based Learning and Pedagogy in Teacher Preparation: Staking Out the Theoretical Mid-Ground. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 23:1, 60-71.