No matter the country, the educational goal is the same: to prepare students for a 21st century world.      By Tae Yoo, Senior Vice President, Cisco

A time traveler from the 19th century arriving today would marvel at the revolutionary changes to be found in virtually every corner of society, except one: education.

Despite radical changes in commerce, transportation, and communications, the educational model across the developed and developing world has changed little since the introduction of public education in the early 1900s.

But now, the future growth and sustainability of our global economy depends on developing the capacities of educational systems to transform the conditions of learning into thoughtful, collaborative and creative learning environments—a world where each child will have equitable access to the opportunity to prosper from the education they receive.

At the same time as school systems around the world are struggling to meet this need, employers have begun seeking talent with 21st century skills in order to increase their competitiveness. In developed countries, skills including communication and collaboration are as much as 70 percent of the requirements in new jobs created since 1998, according to the U.S.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (2004). Even in emerging regions, the job market is shifting to a knowledge-based economy with tasks that require education-based skills and critical thinking. The need for educated and technology literate graduates and the increasing demand for those skills will require bold, innovative and systemic actions on the part of education system leaders and policy makers to close this gap.

Ironically, many young people today are already leading the way. As they become more conversant with social networking technologies that allow them to connect, collaborate, learn, and create, they are controlling their own learning experiences.

While half of all U.S. students who use social networking technology to communicate as well as to research and explore their world, they are also attending institutions of learning which disengage them from these very same tools. In addition, teachers struggle to gain control of this new learning environment and have not been fully prepared to act as facilitators and enablers of the new technologies.

Education 3.0: Accelerating Teaching and Learning
Limited access to knowledge, rote learning, and significant variations in quality, practices and standards often characterized early education. Let’s call this Education 1.0, encompassing a period of learning that defined, perhaps, the first 50 years of education evolution.

Over the past 20 years, we’ve seen evidence, particularly in developed countries, of educational reforms designed to professionalize processes, set standards, and upgrade capabilities that can be dubbed Education 2.0. Much of this improvement often required high capital investments on the part of systems and governments. But money alone can’t buy excellence.

With few exceptions, schools have yet to institute a comprehensive roadmap of curricular and assessment reform. What we believe is needed is a new paradigm of 21st century learning. This new Education 3.0 model will require a broader agenda, one that responds to socioeconomic realities and enhances learning opportunities through the collaborative technologies students will be using on the job.

Naturally, education challenges and opportunities will vary greatly from country to country, but the goals are the same for all learners: to acquire the range of skills needed to succeed in a modern, globalizing world; to receive tailored instruction that enables students to reach their full potential; to connect with their communities in person and digitally; to benefit from the interaction with people from different cultures; and, most important, to embrace learning throughout their lives.