Google evangelist urges for change from status quo

Speaking at a panel discussion at the Wharton-QS Stars Reimagine Educationconference last month held in Philadelphia, Casap told delegates: “What I call for more than anything is a shift to think about education from an iteration and an innovation perspective.”

“I think the first thing we can start with is stop asking and stop doing the same things that we currently do”

“I think the first thing we can start with is stop asking and stop doing the same things that we currently do and trying to get, for example, technology to fit in our protocol, and instead figure out what do we do with technology to expand what we do,” he added.

Casap said the globalised, knowledge-based economy is driving the need for change.

“There’s still parts of the world that are very industrial-based,” he continued. “But in large chunks of the world what we’re facing is a globally connected, network-based, knowledge-based economy, and our education system has to reflect that.”

Speaking later with The PIE News, Casap emphasised that education must also be contextualised.

“What you can do is do what we do in other industries and take the best practices, the best ideas but we have to make it our own,” he said.

“So to just go to a school and copy what they’re doing without thinking about the culture elements, without thinking about your organisation, the way your communication plans are set up, the structure that you need to do this, the hiring practices that you have, for example – these are all factors that play into what a school is going to look like.”

This is why there is no global solution to bring innovation to the field of education, Casap said.

“This could be inside the same town; what works in one school might not necessarily work in another school. You have to take cultural influences into consideration,” he concluded.

The Reimagine Education conference and awards ceremony, which was attended by 350 delegates from 31 different countries, showcased and celebrated innovative projects in the field of education.

Delegates also spoke about the need for more collaboration, endorsing knowledge sharing in the classroom.