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Welcome to Education Futures: Emerging Trends and Technologies in K-12

By Matthew Lynch — July 30, 2013 3 min read
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Once upon a time, the formal education system was designed to meet the economic demands of the industrial revolution. Fast forward to the current global economic climate and in many ways, the established education system is unable to meet the needs of a hyper-connected society that is in a constant state of evolution. As a result, forward-thinkers in the educational system are left pondering many key questions about the future of learning. What will education look like in coming years? Who are today’s students and how can their needs be met? How can American education become dominant on a global scale again? What’s next?

My name is Matthew Lynch and I am an associate professor of education at Langston University. I specialize in issues of reform and innovation in all realms of education, from pre-K learning through college studies. I believe that the current education system is ill-equipped to handle the needs of its student population but strides are being made around the globe to remedy this.

That is where this blog comes in. I plan to look at emerging trends and technologies in K-12 education, and follow them from their infancy to fruition. From time to time, I will invite other voices to weigh in on these important issues; I hope to provide a well-rounded, multi-faceted look at the present and the future of American K-12 education.

Some particular areas that will receive attention on this blog include:

• School reform and innovation
Teacher preparation
• Educational administration
New learning media and technology
• Student success in the workplace of the future
• Student assessment

Understanding these issues and how heavily they will influence student success in the coming decades is vital to making needed improvements in the education system. There is no longer one formula that works for every type of student in every learning setting, and I’d argue that there never has been. The rapid changes in learning technology and student demographics, along with the shrinking global landscape, have led to a call for education reform in recent years. There is no time to sit by idly as a diverse group of students wade through average to below-average educational opportunities; instead, discussions on improvements, advancements and reforms need to be established and ongoing.

The current state of education is going through a drastic renovation. Practices and policies are being reexamined and adjusted. The problem with many of these initiatives, however, is that they are strong on passionate discourse but weak on actual, practical implementation and ideas. Many are not based on evidence, either. I hope to fill that void with objective, research-based insight on key educational issues while bringing up controversial but important questions that relate to the future of public K-12 education in America.

In thinking about the future of education in this great nation, I am inspired by the innovation but simultaneously dejected by the slow implementation in many K-12 educational settings. While colleges and universities seem to implement new practices, policies and technologies at a fast pace, K-12 institutions are quite sluggish. This is not only a disservice to students, but also to the economy at large. Better access to top-notch education starts before Kindergarten - not after a high school diploma has been earned. A future generation of highly-educated, highly-competitive workers can only be made possible with a strong public education system.

I hope that you will join me in this discussion of the future of K-12 education and lend your own insight to the issues that are discussed.

The opinions expressed in Education Futures: Emerging Trends in K-12 are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.