Lifelong Learning the key to survival in the 21st Century Global Economy

Martin BeanGeneral Manager

Education Products GroupMicrosoft Corporation

Microsoft European Academic Leaders Conference – Budapest, 2008

If there’s one thing we know for sure………

Students today can't prepare bark to calculate their problems. They depend on their slates which are more expensive. What will they do when slate is dropped and it breaks? They will be unable to write!

From a Teachers Conference 1703

Students today depend on paper too much. They don't know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can't clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?

From a Principal's Publication in 1815

Students today depend too much upon ink. They don't know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil.

National Association of Teachers Journal 1907

Students today depend upon store bought ink. They don't know how to make their own. When they run out of ink they will be unable to write words or ciphers until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education.

From Rural American Teacher 1928

Students today depend on these expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write with a straight pen and nib. We parents must not allow them to wallow in such luxury to the detriment of learning how to cope in the real business world which is not so extravagant.

From PTA Gazette 1941

Ball point pens will be the ruin of education in our country. Students use these devices and throw them away. The American value of thrift and frugality are being discarded. Businesses and banks will never allow such expensive luxuries.

From Federal Teachers 1950

So what about students of today?

Who are they?Most have never known a

world without:

– the net

– cell phones

– digital music

– video on demand

– IM

Today’s Student• The average teen has been online for nearly 5 years and spends

over 9 hours per week online

• Send and receive email (84%)*

• Surf just for fun on the internet (66%)*

• Do research for school (64%)*

• Visit social networking sites (49%)*

• Teens average over 100 contacts in their buddy lists

• The fastest growing segment of computer users today in the US is

5 – 7 year olds

• 96% of US students say school is important to their success…

only 20% believe it is meeting their needs.

* Alloy College Explorer (2006)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

What do they want from an education?

values priorities likes hates

autonomy

authenticity

connecting & sharing

creativity

individuality

constant stimulation

friends, friends, friends

fun

music

real time interaction

self presentation

devices/phones

identities

cool

stuff friends like

new stuff

complexity

bad design

cost

things that get in the way of expression

what do they want?

The Crisis of Two WorldsA U.S. Case Study

U.S. Workforce Crisis• In a survey of U.S. manufacturers, 90 percent of

employers reported moderate to severe shortages of skilled workers.

• Estimated 300,000 skilled IT jobs that have gone unfilled over the last decade because there was no one qualified to fill them.

• Challenge for Microsoft, where at any given time we have between 3,500 and 4,500 open positions in the U.S.

Education is Everything

• The jobs of the future will need to be filled by “knowledge workers” who have specialized skills and training.”

• We need to provide opportunities for workers to receive postsecondary education and training opportunities.

• Over 90% of the fastest-growing jobs in the U.S. require at least some postsecondary education. Sixty three percent of the fastest growing jobs require a college degree.

• Meanwhile, only about thirty percent of our population possesses a college degree.

Thomas Friedman summed it up best…

• Globalization is a reality

• Competition is global

• We work in a turbo-charged environment

• Business goes where the “talent is”

• Lifetime employment has been replaced by life employability

Thomas Friedman: “The World is Flat”

Implications for Educators

Are We Ready to Shift?

Traditional Learning 21st Century Learning

Instructor Centered Student Centered

Single Media Multimedia

Isolated Work Collaborative Work

Information Delivery Information Exchange

Factual, Knowledge-Based LearningCritical Thinking and

Informed Decision Making

Push Pull

Source: ISTE National Education Technology Standards for Teachers (USA)

Growth of digital, non-traditional student

30

42

64

68

64

95

83

52

70

58

36

32

36

5

17

2-year/associates

For Profit

Large public

Liberal arts/general

Private research

Top research

Top liberal arts

Total

Traditional vs. non-traditional students, Total, 2005Millions; Percent

Traditional Non traditional

14

* Source IPEDS and McKinsey

No shortage of creative ideas

Open Education Resource Experiments

• Major role played by the Hewlett Foundation• MIT’s Opencourseware initiative – providing MIT

content and courseware for use by others• U of Berkeley now on UTube• Similar efforts from CMU, Yale, Stanford, OU • Great brands. Great seeding strategy……what’s next?

Carl Wieman: Teaching Science

• Think of teaching like any other science –practice based on good data, guided by fundamental research, utilizing modern technology• JITT – Web-based. Pulse of student knowledge

before the class begins. • Clickers – Learning and collaboration during class• PhET – Rich technology and simulations to

enhance understanding• Huge gains in learning outcomes

The model of the “Open” University

• 200,000 full time students• 10% overseas • Average age - 38• Core value proposition is

accreditation and scalable teaching experience

• Opening up courseware to the Creative Commons

• Ranked #5 in the UK

Microsoft’s vision for technology enabled learning

Enhance learning with powerful software tools

Broaden access to education

Create powerful learning communities

Enable student-centered learning

Improve the efficiency of education systems

Key R&D Investment Themes

• Provide best of breed productivity, communication and collaboration

• Streamline educator and student chores to free up time

• Enable new pedagogies making learning interactive and engaging

• Enable seamless digital lifestyle and workstyle for students

• Provide tools enabling rich interactive digital content

• Community platform for frictionless commerce in ideas and learning

• Enable best of breed on-premise and SaaS institutional solutions

The Software and Services Future

The New

Platform

Anytime, anywhere, any device with low complexity

Partners in success

• ISVs

• SIs

• Publishers

• Institutions

• Students, Educators, and Parents

• Policy makers

m Microsoft European Academic Leaders Conference – Budapest, 2008

Questions

©2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.This presentation is for informational purposes only. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, in this summary.