IDEO’s Ten Tips for Creating a 21st Century Classroom Experience

There is a very cool company called IDEO. It designs things. It designs great things. Its classical works include the Palm V (my favourite handheld... which I lost in a taxi in HK) and the first computer mouse for Apple!! The folks in IDEO are the masters!!

Interestingly, I recently notice that it designs things in the Learning field as well. Click here to read the article called 'IDEO's Ten Tips for Creating a 21st Century Classroom Experience'. Though the content is more targetted for child education rather than corporate training, there are still a few points which we can borrow. In particular, I find the first 7 points most relevant:

1. Pull, don’t push

2. Create from relevance

3. Stop calling them “soft” skills

4. Allow for variation

5. No more sage onstage

6. Teachers are designers

7. Build a learning community

Oh, and I cannot help highlight points 3 - 'Stop calling them "soft" skills'. The same issue exists in the firm I work in. The general perception is that "soft" skills is less important. If budget is not enough, people would rather spend it on technical knowledge e.g. credit analysis, trade knowledge rather than "soft" skills. However, as the article said,

'Talents such as creativity, collaboration, communication, empathy and adaptability are not just nice to have; they are the core capabilities of a 21st century global economy facing complex challenges.'

The world is more about 'Right Brain' rather than 'Left Brain'. Such shift matters not only to individuals but also corporates. Corporates should enhance the 'Right Brain' capabilities of its workforce, and at the same time, automate or outsource the 'Left Brain' ones. I hope that one day more corporates will realise this.