Abstract:

Fast paced changes in society, technology and our economy all hold significant challenges and opportunities for our educational system. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) will be at the forefront in meeting these new challenges and taking advantage of arising opportunities. In a previous research project, we developed a vision on the ideal ICT-enabled learning space of the future. This ideal ICT-enabled learning space is (1) learner centered and highly personalized, (2) integrated into the daily life of learners; learning does not stop at school, (3) takes place in an immersive environment, making use of gaming and 3D technologies, (4) also contains important physical and social components, (5) provides (real-time) continuous feedback and is (6) based on open platform, content and channels. In this paper we describe what steps are required to turn this vision into a reality. In order to do so, the following questions are addressed in this paper:

• What roadmap can make the vision of the ideal learning space as sketched above a reality?
• What actions need to be undertaken by various stakeholders, most notably policy makers, educational institutions, educational publishers and technology providers?

We address these questions using backcasting and road mapping methodologies. Backcasting aims to understand what the outline of a future situation could look like and how it could be attained. The backcasting technique starts with ‘what could be’ rather than on ‘what is’. In our case this future situation is our vision on the ideal ICT-enabled learning space of 2020. The next step is to go back in time to address the steps required to achieve this desired state from the present. In this paper we propose a roadmap that contains specific milestones that need to be achieved to reach the desired end state. This roadmap focuses on the following types of milestones:

1. Required technologies (e.g. immersive gaming environments)
2. Didactical issues (e.g. incorporation of personal learning goals)
3. New roles for teachers and learners (e.g. balance between virtual and physical coaching)
4. New roles for publishers (e.g. development of open content)
5. New roles for educational institutions (e.g. development of specific curricula)
6. Educational policy issues (e.g. accreditation and curriculum issues)

For the milestones, several drivers and barriers are identified. Secondary data analysis and expert consultations are used to explore actions by key stakeholders that could be effective in mitigating the obstacles or further enforcing a driver. Additionally significant interdependencies and relations are identified between milestones of different stakeholders. Our conclusions consist of recommendations for policy makers, educational publishers and educational institutions, with the aim of providing guidance in the fast changing domain of ICT enabled education. This paper aims to sketch all the steppingstones required to achieve the vision of the ideal ICT-enabled learning space.

Keywords:

education, technology, learning spaces, immersive, innovation, backcasting.