Learning 321: Real Learning, Relevant Education :

Learning 321 is the term  that I use to describe education in the 3rd decade of the 21st century,  driven by Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and other current transformational technologies such as the Internet of Things, 5G, 3D printing, Blockchain and AR/VR.

I have been an academic for more than 50 years having seen the education systems and processes transform through several stages of ‘ chalk and talk’ to the use of OHP with acetate sheets, followed by PowerPoint to use of SmartBoards, and online education with LMS such as webCT, Blackboard, Wiziq and others. Then satellite based education facilitated in India by EDUSAT, and then Internet based conferencing with Skype, Google Hangouts, WebEx and Zoom. With my long innings in EdTech enabled education, I am fortunate in having directly first hand experienced the power and limitations of these. So far, all technologies in education have facilitated the broadcast model with recent successful MOOCs including SWAYAM having touched millions of students.

In the year 2008, my elder son Gaurav introduced me to a book by Clayton Christensen with the title “ Disrupting Class” which drew my attention to the fact that the desirable disruptive manifestation of technology in education is the personalisation of learning. This was also the optimistic expectation of Benjamin Bloom, which he articulated as ‘the 2 σ’ problem. Ten years later we have been able to move towards greater personal choice in the landscape of learning, and can have reasonable expectation that the new learning driven by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will lead to greater personalisation of learning.

In January 2016, Klaus Schwab drew attention to the arrival of the 4th Industrial Age, and during the last 2 years we have been studying its implications for the future of education. In 2017, the MIT Press published a book with title “ Robot-Proof: Higher education in the age of Artificial Intelligence”. In the same year in July 2017 my younger son Herschel wrote and directed a play “ Beyond Singularity” which in a humorous and light hearted way, drew attention to situations when humanoids could have emotions.

My mission for Learning 321 is “ to unite the art of teaching with the Science of learning to offer personalised learner centred technology solutions”. What is missing is the Science of learning? About a hundred years ago from the 1920s when he watched his father, a general practitioner who made housecalls and wrote his prescriptions in Latin, to his days in medical school and beyond, Lewis Thomas saw medicine evolve from an art into a sophisticated science. And he gave the title “ the youngest science: notes of a medicine watcher” to his book.

I have put together some thoughts that could help build a framework for the science of learning, which may develop over the coming decade. This is still work in progress. And I am sharing a set of thoughts that can help in building a proper framework for learning. Link to this post: https://mmpant.com/2020/03/05/a-framework-for-the-science-of-learning/

To me it seems that “ the science of learning, science of the brain, or cognitive science “ by whatever label it is called in the future, is the youngest science evolving before our eyes building on the foundations of wearable devices, learning analytics, big data and Machine learning. And the approach might well be that instead of ‘ a priori’ theories applied quantitatively, we might begin with huge amount of data that we have, and apply the maxim of Robert Croase that “ If you torture data enough it will confess”. 

Here is the link to an earlier blog posted on November 22nd 2019 on the same theme :https://mmpant.com/2019/11/22/learning-321-real-learning-relevant-education-for-the-3rd-decade-of-the-21st-century/

By 2030 India will remain one of the youngest nations on the planet and will be home to more than one billion internet users. And most Indians will access Internet through mobile phones. I have therefore chosen to deliver a suite of 101 courses, 

I have on offer a suite of 101 WhatsApp delivered courses ranging from 90 minutes talks, weekend learning, weeklong learning courses and monthlong courses. 

• WhatsApp live talks (10) 
• Weekend Learning (10)
• Weeklong Learning (10)
• AI-fluent SmartEducator (12)
• Coming of age in the age of AI, the 4th Industrial Age:(52)
• The autonomous lifelong learning ( TALL) Track : (4)
• The Quantum Track (QT): (3)

There is a separate page on this website (mmpant.com) devoted to each of these tracks.