Global Education Platform

The Global Education Platform: Harnessing Technology to Deliver Universal Education and Skills Training to the New Global Economy

Our world is afflicted by a global skills gap. The need for skilled individuals is growing rapidly while the young and marginalized lack access to the education that would allow them to meet this need. While the 2025-generation will be the first in which the majority of workers will require formal skills, over one billion people in the workforce will still lack a secondary education. In its current form, the global education system cannot supply the quantity and quality of education needed to meet this demand. Without change, the under educated will be further marginalized, and the divide between poor and rich will continue to grow, undermining global growth.

 

An online Global Education Platform (GEP) could bridge this gap. Based on a careful analysis of the needs of potential students and employers, the GEP will aggregate educational contents from diverse providers and certify learning success. Without charging students, the GEP will sustain a healthy competition among content providers by rewarding them on the basis of the student achievement each of them facilitates in terms of learning and employment — taking account of the value of certifiable skills actually acquired and of the number of students so benefitted.

- See more at: http://educationenvoy.org/global-education-platform/#sthash.rCFCKS77.dpuf

Is Education Equal to Schooling?

Education has been defined differently by different people. I draw inspiration from various sources to conceptualize education as the process of imparting and acquiring knowledge, skills and attitude through various forms of teaching and learning with a view to preparing individuals to be responsible citizens. It is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, and values from one generation to another. It is an important asset that raises people’s aspirations to increased social, economic, and cultural performance; raises their level of awareness of their environment and equips them with the necessary skills and ideology for contending with the problems they encounter in their daily lives.

Does this sound like anything close to what we refer to as education in Uganda and other developing countries? I would totally disagree. In pre-colonial Uganda traditional education was looked at as an integral part, and most influential component, of the holistic life. The aim of education was to offer training and formation to the individual, through social processes and institutions, to enable one play a befitting role in society. This training and formation took place through real life processes based on age, sex, and status. The world of learning was thus perceived as a life-long process, and was not apart from the world of work. Apprenticeship was the basic tool for learning skills. The acquired knowledge, skills, values and attitudes were not merely a preparation for a deferred future but for both the present and future life. The establishment of modern education (schooling) marked a critical change in the form, scope and philosophy of education. This change has its conspicuous mark in the phenomenon of Schooling, which changed the entire mode, spectrum, rationale and impact of education.

Today we have many schooled graduates who are far from being educated. The teaching and learning activities in schools and evaluation methods in education stress the acquisition and reproduction of information rather than knowledge and its application to real life situations. This explains the lack of originality among most Ugandans. I would therefore say that schooling in Ugandan context is far from the basic aims and objectives of education fundamental principles.

As a high school dropout, I have self educated myself through the use of free online resources. I was able to choose what information is relevant to me and to critically sieve through a wide range of theories to be able to come up with my own conclusions. I am empowered to think creatively, critically and ethically. I have learnt to solve problems by linking acquired knowledge to real life situations and this is something that many schooled people struggle to grasp. Having an academic paper is far from a description of one’s competence. I have had the opportunity to work with university interns and I am always amazed at how incompetent they are in practical application of what they have learnt. It is a shame to note that half of Ugandan graduates struggle to articulate themselves in public and even formal interpersonal dialogues. This all points to the fact that going to school does not necessarily make you a learned person because learning is a choice that one makes.
Knowledge is only but a door to a world of diverse opportunities. Your imagination is the catalyst for the transformation of your knowledge into true ideas. In order to unleash our imaginative abilities, we need to be given the opportunity to explore diverse possibilities without being forced to arrive at a single ‘correct’ answer. This is what is lacking in the current education system. For us to surpass the status quo of relying on academic papers, we must become our own teachers, explore alternatives and design our own career paths based on personal abilities and passion.

Schooling only becomes education if what we learn is relevant to our growing needs as individuals. The learning must be tailored to suit our learning abilities and must be coupled with alternative opportunities to explore and test what we are learning in real life situations. School is not limited to the four walls of a classroom but is only a means to an end. You can become your own teacher once you specify what your true abilities and passions are. This is the true sense of learning and the true definition of education.

Five Pillars of Creative learning

Can you imagine a world where there are no creative or innovative thinkers?  Can you imagine a world where dull ideas are passed as brilliant ones?  As a creative learner who is committed to exploring and implementing creative approaches to education I cannot.  Our organisation- Kyusa is committed to generating creative approaches to education to make sure that no learner is made to feel inadequate by the often prescribed and static approaches and evaluation to learning that many public schools in many parts of the world use.  Our approach to education focuses on self-discovery and innovation of each learner in the hope that they become active participants in their own educational journey.

Education is a critical component for people as they evolve and develop into agents of change.  The delivery of education often neglects the creative aspects that excite learners. Together with five other visionaries from five different countries and three continents of the globe in the fields of alternative education; we have generated five main pillars that illustrate why creative approaches to learning can help in facilitating the learning process for both children and adults.  These five pillars are:

1) Everyone is a teacher
We believe that for Learning to effective; learners and facilitators must be willing and committed to learning from each other. Often time’s facilitators assume that their role is to teach and pass on information/ knowledge however that kind of top down approach to learning has discouraged many creative learners from the regular education schools. We believe that facilitators must come with an open mind and a willingness to learn from their students even as they teach them. This kind of partnership strengthens the learning process and makes it relevant for both all parties involved.

2) Learning from multiple perspectives
For learning to be effective, it must take a multiple perspective approach that enables the learners to link topics to different themes and scenarios. A good example is the world war two which is often taught from the perspective of the United States which won the war however, this very topic can be linked to English, Geography, Political science and other subjects. This helps the learner to appreciate the topic, understand its relevance and to link the concept to other case scenarios that may not be related to the learning environment in a positive way. This will also help to break down the fragmentation and disintegration of learning outcomes from real life situations thus empowering learners to use multiple alternatives in solving problems.

3) Experimental Learning
We all learn best when we are given an opportunity to try out things and get a firsthand experience. Taking the example of a child who sees the dancing flame from a lamp and reaches forth to touch it, there is no amount of dissuading him/her that will quench that curiosity until at last they discover for themselves the effects of touching the flame. That lesson will forever stick with the child and soon they will avoid the fire. Learners must be given an opportunity to explore their creativity in an environment where they are allowed to make mistakes and try again. This enhances learning and arouses passion in the learner because the learning becomes relevant to the learners.

4) Participatory learning
Often times in a regular learning environment; learners do not have the opportunity to actively participate in designing the learning program or defining what is relevant for them. Most facilitators come with the assumption that learners have nothing to contribute towards the learning process a part from taking in what they are being taught or offered. This is kills the morale of the learners as they are made to feel inferior and less appreciated in the learning process. Learners must be given an opportunity to partner with their facilitators in designing the learning program as well as deciding what is relevant for them. This creates a sense of partnership and co-ownership between the learners and the facilitators.

5) Building Self confidence
When we are not given a voice or an opportunity to express ourselves, like a tree that is denied water, we begin to dry up and die slowly. We all have a deep seated desire to be accepted and to feel significant. This is only possible when we are appreciated and accepted for who we are as well as given an opportunity to express our uniqueness. Building self confidence must start at home and be activated in the learning environments. We all need self confidence to be able to stand up for ourselves and to make our voices heart regarding matters of relevance and importance to us.

Each one of these learning approaches helps to expand the often static ways that many public schools teach through outdated textbooks, static methods of conveying information, and the “teacher knows best” (top down) approach to learning.  The educational approach where facilitators only teach information to the learners denies the fact that learners are facilitators too.  Looking at education as a link between facilitators and learners in a joint learning partnership facilitates a more egalitarian approach to education to become actualized.

 Our goal is to revitalize the educational system to cater to the various needs and abilities of learners by creating creative approaches to learning that incorporates multiple senses, self-discovery, and unconventional ways of thinking about real life problems.  These techniques can help learners understand education as a process that they have a vested interest in participating in.  We believes that tailoring education toward a more creative and learner centered approach can help instill a new confidence in the younger generations that they matter.