Blockchains and Bitcoins

When discussing the future of society, a topic that must be discussed is blockchains. Blockchains are like secure databases that allow for easily verifiable data. Related to blockchains are bitcoins, which is a cryptocurrency, or digital currency. Bitcoin transactions run on blockchains.

Watch this short video clip for a brief introduction to blockchains and bitcoins from MIT Technology Review.

For more about the power and potential of blockchains, watch the TEDTalk by Betting Warburg about How Blockchain will Radically Transform the Economy.  

Bitcoin has been in the news quite a bit in the last few months. Here are some helpful articles to get you started and further into bitcoin. 

The World Economic Forum gives further explanation of what bitcoin is and how it got started. 

A new home in Texas was the first to be purchased by bitcoin this month. 

Recently there has been a split in the bitcoin world, which you can read more about here. 

Also, China is the first country to create its own cryptocurrency. 

What do blockchains and cryptocurrencies mean for the future? What impact could they have on schools? Please leave your comments below. 

Futures Planning Workshop

On Friday afternoon, September 8, members of the Leadership Team, the Associate Principals, and the Board Academic Committee came together to think about the purpose of education, to create a timeline of the school's history and to share their perspectives on the coming priorities around Learning and Talent goals for the Building Futures Plan 2018-2021.

The group read Chapter 2, "The Purpose of Education" from Most Likely to Succeed by Ted Dintersmith and Tony Wagner.

And the question that was posed was "What is the most important purpose of education?"

Please weigh in the comments below about your thoughts on this question.

Resources on Progressive Trends in Education

Andrew Hoover brings us a list of resources as we begin to consider the future of education. 

Scientific progress, technology, globalization, integration, and democratization are, among others, principal drivers of change in today’s world. This list of resources in progressive trends in education is intended to be a fairly high altitude reference point to contextualize contemporary, relevant trends in education, and the imperative for change in schools in a dynamic world. It is not intended to be exhaustive. I encourage others to develop their own lists and share. 

Please visit the page on the right, Resources on Progressive Trends in Education, read, share and engage with the material. 

Please use the comment space below to add your sources. 

How to Think Like a Futurist

This week's blog post comes from Alan Phan, Middle School Principal.

When we are thinking about the future, we can think about future trends such as Artificial Intelligence, as we covered last week, but we also need to consider our own mindset and bias.

The article, How to Think Like a Futurist by Ari Wallach, asks us to shed our "short-termism" and think about the "longpath." The article shares three easy strategies that anyone can use to be a better Futurist.

What other strategies do you use when planning for the future in your business or personal life?

Artificial Intelligence - What will it mean?

If we are talking about what we see in the near and distant future, artificial intelligence and robotics invariably will come up. How will AI influence our future reality? This is one the most prolific areas of futures writing with a variety of perspectives and opinions. Below I capture a bit of the current writing on AI and robotics.

AI has been taking our jobs for 50 years, so why are we worried?

Some believe that AI might literally create god.

While others think that AI might unlock our creativity.

Others are concerned about its power as AI creates its own language.

Facebook kills its AI as it stops using English and begins to use its own language. 

Others posit that Universal Basic Income will be necessary because of automation.

What will artificial intelligence mean to us in our lifetime? What will it mean for education?

Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Save the Date for the RISE event on Friday, September 15, when we will invite IIT Madras Lema Labs to come in and talk about Robotics and AI.

The Rapidly Changing Reality

As we look to create Building Futures Plan, 2018-2021, we must consider what we want AISC to look like in three years, and what we must do to achieve that. This visioning of our future is a fascinating endeavor since we are not fortune tellers; we must consider the world around us today and speculate on what it will mean for education and AISC.

As you see from the Sources section on the right hand banner, I follow many sites to learn about future thinking and trends.

Singularity Hub offers this short article, 7 Critical Skills for the Jobs of the Future.
We live in a world of accelerating change. New industries are constantly being born and old ones are becoming obsolete. A report by the World Economic Forum reveals that almost 65 percent of the jobs elementary school students will be doing in the future do not even exist yet. Both the workforce and our knowledge base are rapidly evolving.

Combined with the effects of technological automation on the workforce, this leaves us with a crucial question: What are the skills future generations will need?

If these are the skills that our students will need in the future job market, how can we at AISC teach them now so that our students are well-prepared and ready for the world after school. How do we stay relevant?

In the comments, please chime in and tell us your thoughts. Are these the skills that students will need in the job market in the future?  What is missing? 

Call for Futures Planning Team Members

As we move forward with Futures Planning, one of our first steps is to finalize our 2017-2018 Futures Planning Team. Each year community members move on and no longer serve on the Futures Planning Team.

VACANCIES
This year we have 9 vacancies.

• 1 Parent 
• 1 Faculty
• 1 Staff
• 4 Students
• 2 Alumni Students

COMMITMENTS
Being a Futures Planning Team member asks that you commit to four full days of meetings during the 2017-2018 school year:

December 2, Futures Summit
This full-day event is designed to engage any AISC community member in generative conversation about the futures trends and drivers in society and their implications for education and AISC. Futures Planning Team members are encouraged to attend.

February 22, Planning Team Work Session
The Futures Planning Team gives the Leadership Team feedback on goals and priorities for the Futures Plan 2018-2021.

May 2-3, Planning Team Retreat
The Futures Planning Team approves goals for Futures Plan, 2018-2021.

AGREEMENTS
The Futures Planning Team agrees, while they are meeting together, to:

• treat each person as a peer.
• communicate openly and honestly.
• reveal their interests but work toward the common good.
• present their points of view and their points of view only.
• contribute, but not dominate.

If you are interested in being on the Futures Planning Team, please email Angeline Mohan for an application form. The deadline to turn in form is August 25.