Mobile learning is most directly understood by its connection to mobile technologies: digital tools that enable learning across time, space, and geographic constraints. We are reimagining mobile learning by taking the emphasis on mobile off of digital connectivity and placing it on the learners themselves. 

Why mobility? The way we move, travel, and carry ourselves is directly tied to the ways we learn, work, and socialize. We envision a not-so-distant future where physical settings and virtual realities blur; where learning and training opportunities are not confined to four walls or bound by a structured curriculum.

What is mobile? And how will we learn? 

These two guiding questions served us on our journey into the future. First, we imagined a training program that would have participants fully mobile, traveling in a bus along a designated route. Before making this a reality, we need to unpack possible futures regarding how learning and mobility will unfold and intersect.

The publication melds past and present to explore concepts ranging from brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) to 15 Minute Cities, from Wabi-Sabi aesthetics to the rise of a multi-generational workforce. Travel through future learning scenarios that envision how ongoing changes in education, technology, and society are shaping learning in 2050.  

• Lost at sea: Admission of uncertainty

We began with a concrete idea for an ITCILO training program, and ended with a broad, conceptual Framework for Learning Futures. Attempting to draw a straight line between where we are currently and how we envision the future of learning innovation will not produce the most impactful outcome. We must first get comfortable with uncertainty. 

• Making discoveries: 8 driving forces and 24 signals  

Signals are observable indicators of our changing world. This publication includes a refined selection of signals clustered into eight macro-categories. With each signal, we share bold and often unconventional examples that offer insight into the rapidly changing nature of the world we inhabit. 

• Charting new terrain: 4 imaginative scenarios on learning in the year 2050

The 4 Learning Futures exist at the intersection of experiential learning and didactic pedagogy, of physical travel and virtual mobility. We welcome readers to the year 2050. Immersive examples, a navigational map, and collage-based depictions of each future await. 

• Assembling provisions: Additional resources for further exploration 

The publication concludes with The Bookshelf: a selection of 28 resources for broadening information and inspiration, a set of Playing Cards that correspond to each of the Signals, and a fold-out Map containing the conceptual layout for each Learning Future. 

Learning in Motion is not the end of this journey, but the beginning. We must continuously challenge present-day assumptions to make space for Learning Futures that look fundamentally different from today. This publication is intentionally thought-provoking, interactive, and process-oriented. We do not seek to paint a complete picture, but rather demonstrate the value in reframing future contexts, asking guided questions, and developing future scenarios. Throughout the publication, we invite readers to make discoveries and adopt new perspectives, as we move towards the uncertain future together.

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