How do future leaders learn?

The game is changing so much and so quickly that the best education will be the one that forefront the needs of the new generation in the best way

While it is true that not everyone has the same educational opportunities, it is also true that for many years, those who have the privilege of having a proper education, have had it under the same scheme, being passive listeners and learning by heart every single lesson … or at least that is the constant complaint of the new generations.

As a consequence of the Digital Age, students learn differently. When I was a young student for example, (and I am still a millennial) the main sources of information were in schools, in books, taught by teachers…

A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to my teenage cousin, who despite being a good student, was complaining about the lack of motivation to continue studying. For her, passively listening to teachers for eight hours a day does not represent any challenge, especially when all the answers are just one click away, in Google, from her smartphone.

Although we already had the Internet, we did not have all those mobile tools. While I was a student I had to go to the library, fill out a bibliographic record (previously bought in a stationery shop); processes that have been forgotten (for the benefit of the leaders of the future).

Nowadays, technology is the cornerstone to create a new leadership culture. Digitalization is the fundamental factor guiding a massive, powerful and unstoppable revolution that is changing the way we learn, the way we interact, the way we work… the way we live.

Thanks to technology, millions of people can daily strive to be better prepared and have a better education through an online degree.

The MOOCs (massive open online courses), for example, is a reality in favor of education, which through online courses integrated by multimedia materials, readings and interactive forums; encourages the participation and development of millions of students around the world for free. See how The University of Edinburgh describes the MOOCs.

Technology has also reversed the process in which students work and collaborate. They used to listen in class and worked at home to be evaluated in some way in the next session or at the end of the semester. Now students learn interactively, through tutorials and videos, making information much easier to assimilate.

The role of teachers and professors has also been modifying in the Digital Era. They stopped being only a source of information or the “experts” on the subject, they became guides, coaches and tutors in charge of advising and shaping students’ skills to face the challenges of the future.

The game is changing so much and so quickly that the best education will be the one that forefront the needs of the new generation; the best institutions will be those that evolve along with their students showing them the way to become self-learners and developing their abilities to take “the bull by the horns” with their own hands.