New York, NY − June 15, 2015− In just 15 years, it is predicted that more than two billion jobs will disappear, as robots and automation will make many traditional careers obsolete. In fact, according to the World Bank, estimates indicate that only one in five of today’s elementary students will find a job that exists today. At ISTE 2015 in Philadelphia, June 28-July 1, Pearson will explore the ways that learning must change to ensure that Generation Alpha—kids born after 2010—and the generations that follow are prepared to succeed in a world that we may not have yet imagined.
“A decade ago we never would have dreamt that someone would have a career as a social media strategist or an app developer,” said Alfred Binford, managing director, Pearson North America. “To ensure today’s learners are prepared for new kinds of opportunities, we must think about learning and teaching in new ways. As a member of the Pearson team and a father of three sons, I look forward to engaging in this conversation with educators from around the world.”
Jobs of the future and the skills necessary to succeed in them are the topic of a panel discussion, Reimagining Learning to Prepare Today’s Students for the Jobs of the Future, moderated by Binford at ISTE 2015. Representing a broad range of voices in education, the panelists will discuss the new paths that learners around the world are following as they prepare for future careers that push the boundaries of our imaginations in 2015.
In addition, Pearson researcher Maurer and Mona Leigh Guha of the University of Maryland’s iSchool and Human Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) will be joined by Kids CoLab team members for a poster session, Learners at the Center: Kids Co-Design Educational Solutions, on Monday, June 29, 2-4 pm. Kids CoLab is a team of students who collaborate with Pearson developers to create real world applications for learning. In the poster session, ISTE attendees will have the opportunity to work side-by-side with Kids CoLab kids and learn simple ways to integrate cooperative inquiry techniques into learning and teaching.
Pearson will also take the pulse of ISTE attendees on the trends impacting the future of learning with a short online poll. The four-question poll will explore the trends having greatest impact on learning today; the skills that are most critical for preparing students for the careers of the future; and the new courses that should become requisite for high school graduation. Finally, poll participants will be asked to predict the most popular jobs in the year 2030.
About Pearson
Pearson is the world’s leading learning company, with 40,000 employees in more than 80 countries working to help people of all ages to make measurable progress in their lives through learning.
