I saw this infographic and thought it was an interesting concept, to be a digital nomad. The definition is “an individual who leverages wireless digital technologies to perform their work duties, and more generally conduct their lifestyle in a nomadic manner.”

Though the infographic is meant for the workplace, it is really where things are headed in education too I think, especially for those of us in blended and online learning. The jobs my little ones will have, will very likely not involve driving to a building and sitting at a computer. The whole concept of OBSERVABLE HOURS is slowly being replaced with DEMONSTRATED OUTCOMES. I remember when I read “The 4 Hour Work Week” and felt a massive shift in how I valued my own time and productivity. There is too much time spent filling in hours before the whistle blows. Imagine how our students feel, sitting in classrooms all day learning a great many things that are a 10 second look-up on their cell phones. There will come a time when our darling little ones will lose patience with this sentimental attachment we have with value-in-hours and begin a digital revolution, instead,

I have to confess, the first time a student told me they did my online writing assignment on their cell phone I actually winced. “With your THUMBS?? …” I sputtered rather imperiously. “Yah, while I was on the bus,” she added nonchalantly, clearly unaware of the grey hair that sprouted almost immediately as I mentally began grading the assignment I hadn’t yet read. Truth is, it’s not our planet they are inheriting. It’s a new world they are creating. They are fluent in a digital world which is completely interconnected and yet cradled in the palm of their hands. Whether they sit in a building or curl on the sofa or integrate school into their transit ride … does it matter?

It is indeed a Brave New World a ‘coming.