HP Innovation Journal Issue 12: Summer 2019 | Page 48

be able to code in a specific language like C#, but they will
need to understand the fundamentals of how automation,
artificial intelligence, and machine learning function in
order to work alongside those technologies.
The most important skill that schools can teach students
at the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is learn-
ing itself, paired with the ability to be flexible and adapt to
a constant churn of change.
Having students establish agency over
their own educations and careers will
help them navigate this change, as
well as ensure that they will become
lifelong learners. So how can schools
begin this process?
Two education innovations are currently diffusing
throughout the system. One is called competency-based
education, focusing on what students know rather than
how many credit hours they’re spending in the classroom.
This allows students to get credentials in a shorter, more
personalized amount of time. The micro-credential is
the other education innovation, which allows students to
learn a subject or skill and gain a credential after taking
an assessment. This can take place online or in person
and will help students and next-generation workers learn
new skills to future-proof their careers.
Technology will also play a role in the
reimagining of education. Virtual and
augmented reality allow people to
gain access—in a simulated environ-
ment—to experiences that may be too
expensive or risky in the real world.
For example, HP Labs scientists were able to visit the Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology and be fully, virtually
immersed in cellular walls while learning about cell func-
tions and identifying mutated strands of DNA. At Harvard,
there is an augmented reality demo that demystifies how
electricity gets from a socket into a speaker and produces
sound waves. This level of immersion can significantly
increase the rates of learning, accessibility, and under-
standing of abstract concepts for students.
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HP Innovation Journal Issue 12
Data courtesy of NACAR
Artificial intelligence has the potential to take education
even further by deeply personalizing experiences and pro-
viding specific data to parents and teachers to help build
learning at the pace and style of the learner. Teachers
may not have enough time or the ability to differentiate
instruction for each student, and at HP, we believe that
technology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning
can conspire to give teachers more time and data about
students that will provide them with vital information to
personalize learning.
If a student is struggling with a specific concept, data
could help teachers identify how to better help them