ULearn08 Keynote - Steven Carden

The second keynote was presented, ably, by Steven Carden. This was a highly entertaining talk with a profound message. I asked the twit network to reflect on the keynote as it was happening and you can see their comments in the image to the left (click to enlarge).

The take away message from this keynote:

We are facing or experiencing rapid, extreme change - discussions are needed about our future. What sort of society do we need to be to survive in a changing society?

Steven argued that we are not ready for this change. We forget how small we are (NZ) on the world's stage. We do not have any profound answers... yet. Dialogue is needed.

Societies who are moving in a forward direction have three things in common:
Idea-generating
Ideas are needed to cope with a world that is changing

Idea-absorbing
Small countries like NZ can't generate all the ideas we need. We need to absorb them from elsewhere.

Willing to change


Steven asks what does all this mean for NZ's education sector?

1. The workforce needs highly adaptive people. The nature of jobs is changing dramatically
2. We need radically new ways of educating young people
3. It's all about YOU - the quality of the teachers in our schools is the key.

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." (Alvin Toffler)

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