What a time to be alive - in 2045

From Facer & Sandford's 2010 article: The next 25 years?: future scenarios and future directions for education and technology, the scenario that seems most viable to me is: 

World 3: only connect

A world organized around a collective understanding of interdependence between people, between individuals and machines, between individuals and ecosystems, in which the concepts of ‘identity’, benefit and action are understood as profoundly social. In this environment, we see two education systems emerging: 

1 ‘Integrated experience’ – an education system embedded indistinguishably in society, economy and community, in which learners learn through ongoing participation. 

2 ‘Service and citizenship’ – an education system distinct from society in which social cohesion and competencies for social participation are explicitly taught.

The word participation stood out to me. In my head I was asking a few questions:

💬 How do you teach social participation to students? What would that look like in a K-12?

👀 As civilians, do we get to choose how much we want to participate in societies?

💪 And do we get to choose which societies we would like to be a part of?

Creativity as a Participatory Process by Edward Clapp

TEDxPennsburgED

This reminds me a lot of the concept of participatory creativity, where creativity used as a verb instead of an adjective. It is also participation-based: you as a person are not creative. Instead, everyone has the opportunity to participate in creativity. By doing so, young people develop dynamic profiles of participation that are unique to each individual.

Extending the same logic, in a world organized around a collective understanding of the interrelationships between people, HCI, and others, the connection also comes from the participation, the engagement of these interactions. By doing so, we construct different layers of our identities and better understand our relationship to these objects, societies, and the world around us.

Inspired by concepts including participation and society, I'd like to believe that these two scenarios will emerge in the next 25 years:

Global Citizenship for all

Facer and Sandford asked on page 81 about national identities and whether they are declining or not. My hunch is that they will, especially with the push of ICTs.

A discussion on what is means to be a global citizen, UNESCO

The coronavirus pandemic, climate change, and many other challenges underline the fact that all people on this planet are connected to each other. We might have different skin colors and speak different languages, but at the end of the day, we do share something in common - we all want this planet that we live on to be a better place.

ICT is a powerful vehicle to make that happen.

Take a closer look at activism. The causes we support: #MeToo, BlackLivesMatter, pride parade, etc; they go beyond national borders. You don't have to be a citizen of a particular country to participate in any activity. Yes, you might be able to relate to BlackLivesMatter more if you are from the US, but as you have probably seen on Twitter, people from all around the globe are showing their support in different ways. To help give some perspective on the scope of the demonstrations, here is an online map that shows the many cities worldwide standing up for racial justice.

A lot of us have no say in our local governments due to various reasons. A lot of countries have no say in global political conferences due to various reasons. ICTs can be a powerful way for ordinary citizens to take influence regardless of origin. ICTs allow global citizens to have more impact in a world with growing dilemmas that require global cooperation.

I'm not saying the concept of nations and states will be extinct by 2045, but I'm hopeful that we will move in a direction where each and every person is able to participate in global causes.

Digital Nomads take over

Have you heard of "digital nomads?" If you haven't, they are people who use telecommunications technologies to earn a living and, more generally, conduct their life in a nomadic manner. Such workers often work remotely from foreign countries, coffee shops, public libraries, co-working spaces, or recreational vehicles.

Now you might be wondering: what on earth do they actually do? But guess what? You might be one in the future, too! 

Digital Nomads at a co-working space 

There are two components of digital nomading:

1) Using telecommunications technologies to earn a living

2) Living the nomadic lifestyle, jumping from one place to another

Now, coronavirus has forced all of us to try remote school and work, which will likely be the case for the foreseeable future. Look at you, already satisfying one criterion to be a digital nomad! While some of us are excited to finally return to office, others might choose remote work for the long haul.

Nearly 70 percent of Twitter employees said in a company survey that they want to continue working from home at least three days a week. In fact, companies including Twitter and Slack have made work from home permanent. "The past few months have proven we can make that work," a Twitter spokesperson said at the time. "So if our employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and they want to continue to do so forever, we will make that happen." It is not hard to believe that other companies, especially tech companies, will follow in their footsteps as well.

Now, what does work from home actually mean? It doesn't necessarily suggest that you have to quarantine for the rest of your life. Instead, it gives you more freedom to work at your desired location and your desired time, putting options into the hands of employees. That could be spending time with your family and pets. That could also mean backpacking around Southeast Asia while working full time.

Travel would also look different in 2045. More of us no longer live in one neighborhood or one country for extended periods of time. Maybe we won't be living on earth 🌍 by that time, as Elon Musk likes to say. We will all be able to at least try the digital nomad lifestyle, empowered by ICTs.

REFERENCE 

Facer, K., & Sandford, R. (2010). The next 25 years?: Future scenarios and future directions for education and technology. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 26, 74–93.