Each Industrial Revolution brought great change to the world. Technology is a key element to the revolution. Even a hundred years ago, the technology of the steam engine, for example, led to the blossoming of a new, improved way of life. The newer revolutions – 3rd and 4th – are no exception.
Many believe eLearning is one of the major breakthroughs because of the 3rd Industrial Revolution. The Internet changed numerous aspects of our society. Although not a perfect learning solution, eLearning changed the face of knowledge transfer and learning. The term ‘learning ecosystem’ first became a buzz word around 2004 and resulted in major changes to how we learn, interact, and quantify knowledge transfer.
The 4th Industrial Revolution
Dr. Klaus Schwab published a fantastic book about the 4th Industrial Revolution in 2017. He is Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. The 4th revolution will alter how we live and work. Schwab believes this revolution is much different than earlier ones. He argues the scale and scope and the complexity dwarfs anything we experienced previously.
Think of this revolution as a fused infrastructure that connects the physical, digital, and biological worlds. Some debate this paradigm change will recreate what it is to be human! Can you visualize the advent of nanomaterials that are 200 times stronger than steel? What if these nanomaterials were thinner than a strand of hair? Dr. Schwab also talks about the development of a 3D-printed liver!
Will technology replace humanity?
Harvey Singh, Founder of Instancy Learning Platform, thinks this will slowly happen. Why? Technology is not yet at the level where it can replicate 100 percent of human thought and reasoning. Technology enables us to perform tasks faster and with more efficiency; however, Harvey feels there will always be a need for human intelligence to drive that technology. As a global society, we are not yet at the place where a drastic disruption is reality. Watch for discussions about ethics as technology increasingly replaces human interaction.
The 4th Industrial Revolution and Learning Ecosystems
When planning your learning ecosystem, remember to keep the learner front and center. Student/customer satisfaction is the nucleus of a successful plan. A key aspect of the learning ecosystem is the brainstorming and ‘war room’ approach to developing a roadmap. Dissect what you see as key aspects of the technology transforming this new revolution; for example, Augmented Reality is perhaps one of the most important technologies in new-age learning and knowledge transfer. 3D printing allows us to build real life simulations like never before.
As a dedicated learning technology company, Instancy has embraced technology for two decades. We continue to upgrade and build our system based on best practices and the best way to harness technology for all training and education needs. When planning your ecosystem, the tools and technology you use must be flexible, achievable, within your budget, and able to move without having to recreate code, databases, and tools. We offer a Free Trial of our complete learning platform. You do not need to use a credit card as we activate demo sites for 30 days.
