The uLearn18 programme is structured around three key conference strands with the ākonga/learner at the centre:
There is increasing global concern about identifying and developing the capabilities our learners will require to learn and thrive into the future. This can be seen in the development of the OECD's Learning2030 framework and other international frameworks, including the NZC work on Competencies, and the emergent cross-disciplinary work around the digital technologies curriculum.
The main idea for this conference strand revolves around the notion that we must make learning a lifelong and lifewide endeavour, and that schools can no longer operate as isolated silos of activity. It’s about the idea of taking a village to raise a child, and creating opportunities for multiple agencies, parents and whānau to work collectively and collaboratively to create new learning partnerships and new learning ecologies.
The significant challenges associated with the pace, scale, and complexity of change is inarguably the most pressing issue for education today. The key thing is that the change we face is exponential in nature, and that our traditional, linear approaches to coping with change are no longer sufficient.