Future of Education -The show must go on!

I finished grading exams, moderation, archiving and supporting faculty this week. Phew! what a relief. Whenever the spring semester ends, I feel like the end of an academic cycle. Even though, I teach in Summer,  it is different. Shorter sessions, lesser students, and plenty of other activities for stimulation.

As I look back to Spring 20, I am speechless.

What a journey it has been. Who knew - Spring 20 would turn out like this. I read a meme somewhere on the internet that said, no one - who interviewed for a position in 2015 would have got the question "where do you see yourself in 5 years?" right.

So true, we all have been washing hands, dodging the virus with a mask and gloves like a ninja and keeping our head down in the lock down and working diligently. 

These difficult times have challenged most of our assumptions. It has shown - how artificial our world economy is and how quickly it can collapse - like a pack of cards, without warning. Businesses are shutting down, people are losing jobs for no fault of their own and greater inequalities are being created every day, as a result of the pandemic. 

The ivory tower has a reputation of being unresponsive to adapt to changing circumstances. The phrase, “… those that can’t do, teach …” is something we from academe hear at some point in our careers. It is true that the gears of change in academia turn slowly, it is after all, a long haul to climb the steps of the tower. 

However, a group of crazy educators that I belong to - brought action at the tower. 
In this era of disruptions and a looming pandemic, we re-imagined the future of education. We did not let the pandemic stop our aspiration for education. In fact, it gave us momentum. And we were duly supported by the Leadership of the country.

Being a digital expert in academia, it was a surreal opportunity. I got to test out many of my dreamy ideas and innovative teaching approaches. The exciting thing was that my students responded well to it. Even though, they were all locked up at home, they all looked forward to my class sessions.

I taught business concepts through artistic endeavors like poetry and personified digital art. I introduced games and simulations as part of assessment for learning. We solved ethical challenges and did the famous trolley problem, and observed some fast paced animals to understand qualities that we need to imbibe. We did randomized breakout study groups that broke barriers of a classroom and we had digital CEOS  who led companies to boom and bust. And yes, we conquered the idea of equitable digital education for all in a boundary less classroom!

We remembered leaders with exemplary styles.  Sheikh Mohammad, Sir Ernest Shackleton and Maharaja Jai Singh were top favorite in my class. We read Sheikh Mohammad's Qissati to understand life through his experiences and stories. And calibrated that one should remain kind and put their best foot forward in leadership - because leadership is service to the people. We even delved into the Sheikh CEO and revisited the journey from camels to cadillacs. We took a moment to reflect and comprehend what we had achieved. From dust and mud to burgeoning sky scrappers, the UAE had shown the world - what amazing leadership can do for a country in a couple of decades.

I also got to experience the full blown power of technology in education and futuristic exams. It was like a sneak peak in the future of the world. We gave out "take home closed book" exams, using auto proctors and partial artificial intelligence grading. The experience was something straight from a sci-fi movie. As I was introducing it to my students, I felt like Tom Cruise from Mission Impossible, on a mission that looked quite implausible at the beginning. However, with assumptions like adequate training, robust infrastructure, and an internet connection that never dips - we ventured into a land that no human had gone before.

We dreamed, we dared and we won!

Education for me will never go back to what it was because I lived in a time where some crazy educators ganged up together and did some unthinkable things.

Moving on to more of the same. And HELLO! Augmented Reality!