Reflections on technology, education and the future.

About 12, 13 years ago I read a story in which the someone said that the most important thing in the future would be “learning to learn.” Unfortunately I did not find the magazine in which I read this, I only remember having found it fascinating.

This idea, as Stephen Heppell shows here, is not new (he published on his blog in 2013 and brings reports from 2011,2012). Information is increasingly available and the means of production increasingly accessible. Here is a reflection on the relationship of music, music education with these facts.

Just remember how much audio production cost 15-20 years ago. How expensive were the equipment needed for this kind of production. Today there are very cheap equipment and they deliver a professional quality.

Look at the the examples of Northern Beaches Christian Scholl and Hilltop Road Public School, both in Australia, given in the MOOC course The Place of Music in 21st Century Education, would it be possible to use such advanced technologies if the cost of having such equipment was the same as 10, 15 years ago? However, for a satisfactory result, our knowledge of how to operate each of these elements of this chain comes into play.

The lowest input cost is only one element of this equation. The knowledge widely available nowadays to operate these equipment’s, software’s and platforms are fundamental. The professional of the future has to retain knowledge of several areas to stay active in the market today. Basically, nowadays, a person assumes the role of several people in productions of the past.

It is there, I believe, that the role of technology enters into learning. Technology as Teo Chee Hean, quoted in Heppell’s text, “is more rapid than the typical timeline for educational research studies,” therefore one must think of an education in which people have access to the means of production that they should use in the future, which will certainly involve a lot of technology, and train those people to be able to quickly embrace change. After all, the world is changing faster and faster. Autonomy in this constant adaptation is an important tool for people these days, in the future will be key.

I believe that a full basic education, which includes music, is another important factor in this super complicated equation. The development of talents involving creativity and cooperation, fundamental elements of music, are fundamental. As Heppell said in his text: “In a world awash with content, much of it free, markets turned out to be about memberships and mutuality, whilst ingenuity and creativity were scarce and valued.”  

Learn how to learn is the key to the future, and music is the way.