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From left: Ivan Duggan, Public Sector Manager, Cisco Ireland; Ciaran Bradley, Public Sector Manager, Cisco Northern Ireland; the presentation’s speaker Michael Stevenson; College Principal Dr Anne Heaslett; Bob Barbour, Chief Executive of the Centre for Competitiveness
A lunchtime presentation sponsored by the Centre for Competitiveness was held at Stranmillis University College on 25th January entitled ‘Education 3.0: preparing learners for participation in the global 21st Century economy’.
The main speaker was Michael Stevenson, Vice President of Global Education for Cisco Systems, the multinational company based in California that designs and sells consumer electronic, networking and communications technology and services. Michael is responsible for developing education strategy and leading implementation in countries where Cisco is working to bring about education reform. ‘Education 3.0’ strives to address the holistic transformation of education systems to 21st century learning, offering a foundation for informed dialogue amongst education practitioners.
Using his direct experience with various education initiatives globally and research into education reform models, Michael spoke about the pressures on educational systems around the world and discussed what some of the responses should be at various levels. He talked about the challenges posed by globalization and the need to supply workers for tomorrow who had flexible, non-routine as opposed to routine skills. He described how technology was ‘ripe for education’ with its ability to improve connectivity, mobility and collaboration, stressing the importance of having highly qualified and committed teachers as the catalysts in utilizing technological tools in order to bring about transformational learning.
If you want to read more on ‘Education 3.0’ go to http://www.educationfutures.com/2009/04/19/designing-education-30/