For 2020 Vision - Useful Tool: KnowledgeWorks Map of The Decade

In his blog of Monday, Nov. 27, 2006, entitled, "2020 Vision", Karl Fisch wrote about the difficulties he has encountered with staff development efforts to "define a specific vision of what the future is going to look like", and the problems of "nailing down specifically what school – or the world will look like 5 or 10 or 15 years out." May I suggest a valuable resource for Karl Fisch and other teachers to consider for their staff development at Arapahoe High School in the district of Littleton Public Schools? The 2006-20016 Map of Future Forces Affecting Education, developed by the Institute for the Future and KnowledgeWorks Foundation, is available online as an interactive resource at: http://www.kwfdn.org/map. Based on expert opinion aggregation and ethnographic studies, the map is not a prediction, but it offers a plausible, internally consistent view of what might happen in the coming decade, based on prevailing trends. The forecast in the map raises key questions about education in this decade. If you consider the trends on the map that resonate with your group and imagine their implications, you will find that you can make better decisions in the present. The map is useful for planning for the future: from foresight, to insight, to action. Many education leaders who have used the map report that they have found it quite helpful for evoking useful conversations about the future. For group discussions, multiple hard copies of the map can be requested via the map website.

Ama Shabazz, M.A. Ed.
Program Officer –Education Strategy
KnowledgeWorks Foundation
One West Fourth Street, Suite 200
Cincinnati, OH 45202-3634
Telephone: 513-929-1342
Electronic Mail: Shabazza@kwfdn.org