NECC: Five Regions of the Future: A New Way to Think About Technology
Futurist Joel Barker believes that leaders need to study the future so as not to be surprised by new things such as technology. In a recently published book, Five Regions of the Future : Preparing Your Business for Tomorrow’s Technology Revolution, he outlines five distinct ecosystems, or what he calls TechnEcologies:
*Super Tech: Bigger, better, more! (e.g., fusion power)
*Limits Tech: Use what you’ve got (e.g., aerogel insulation)
*Local Tech: Think small, think home (e.g., electric wind turbines)
*Nature Tech: Be one with nature (e.g., organic plastics)
*Human Tech: What lies within us (e.g., stem cells)
As a futurist, he gave some insight into how growth in these areas will impact the future. While his presentation did not make a clear connection to education, his words compel us to think about how education will impact or be impacted by these TechnEcologies. How have we been impacted by technologies, even ust in the last five years? Can we examine the variuos TechnEcologies and see how aspects of them affect the educational system? Will it be the responsibilities of leaders in education to attempt to understand the impact and place of various technologies on the future of education?