This presentation series examines education as a futures business. Educators need to become futurists so they can move beyond their existing assumptions about teaching, learning, and assessment. The presentations outline a range of practical and explicit strategies that blend the best of what we currently do in the classroom with new approaches that address the changing realities of the modern world and modern students.

In today’s digital landscape, we are witnessing the Age of Disrupted Learning - an incredibly turbulent time where every part of society is experiencing upheaval as the result of the pervasive nature of disruptive change. To thrive in these chaotic times, our schools, like our businesses, communities, and families, must continuously adapt to changing conditions. This presentation examines the changing nature of our world; identifies the critical 21st-century skills not being addressed by our current educational system; and specifically identifies how we can effectively engage learners so that they can perform exceptionally well on traditional exams, while simultaneously learning the critical new basics needed to excel in both school and life beyond school. Attendees will be provided with access to an extensive digital library of resources aligned to the Education in the Age of Disrupted Learning presentation.

The rapid emergence of online digital technology has bombarded people living in the modern world with a myriad of multimedia experiences. These experiences have had a profound effect on how people process information. No one has been more affected than the younger generations who have grown up in the new digital landscape. This presentation examines how hyperinformation experiences have rewired the brain of the always-on generation; and what this means for teaching, learning, and assessment strategies in the modern world. Attendees will be provided with access to an extensive digital library of resources aligned to the Understanding the Always-on Generation presentation.

Based on the award-winning book of the same name, this session looks at the modern world, examines the new entry skills students will need to be successful in digitally infused working environments and provides a comprehensive profile of 10 core learning attributes of digital learners. What are the new thinking skills our 6 students will require, and how must we shift instruction to ensure we are equipping them with these skills? New Connections provides a practical look at how we can teach effectively in a time when emergent technologies cascade onto the new digital landscape. Participants will be provided with access to an extensive digital library of resources aligned to the core learning attributes outlined the Reinventing Learning presentation.

Where does creativity come from? How are we inspired to be creative? What thought processes lead us to forge exceptional and unique products and concepts that speak to us on unseen and personal levels, shaping our thinking and inspiring strong opinions and feelings in others? And how can businesses and education make use of these powerful qualities, and be driven to excel? This workshop focuses on the mental processes that help bring passion to presentation, story to structure, and emotion to innovation. Discover how artistic proficiency adds meaning and relevance through design, art, and storytelling by incorporating the 5I’s process—Identify, Inspire, Interpolate, Imagine, and Inspect. Participants will be provided with access to an extensive digital library of resources specifically aligned to the Inspiring Creativity Through Imagination and Innovation workshop.

Today, leaders are under relentless pressure. There are a 1000 management issues that scream for their attention every day. There are increased demands for student performance and teacher accountability, while at is same time principals are expected to do this with less funding. On top of all of this, principals are expected to be instructional leaders in their schools. Based on the forthcoming books A Brief History of the Future of Education and LeaderShift Happens, this presentation offers a lifeline to overtaxed principals struggling with the issues of how to be effective instructional leaders with their staffs. It outlines specific strategies and identifies essential resources that can be used for leading teachers into meaningful instructional change.