Do read this great little tweet tirade on #edtech predicting the future and cognitive science by Benjamin Riley (Deans for Impact)

When I read the first tweet of this thread by Benjamin Riley I had the feeling we were up to something good. And Benjamin didn’t disappoint. I won’t make it into a habit of posting something like this on this blog, but I do wanted to share this here as I know that many of my readers would otherwise miss this:

Please forgive me for the following tweet thread (not to say tirade) that will attempt to connect Jeff Bezos, #edtech, predicting the future, and cognitive science together. Get ready!

— Benjamin Riley (@benjaminjriley) August 13, 2018

Bezos continues: "I almost never get the question: 'What's not going to change in the next 10 years?' And I submit to you that that second question is actually the more important of the two — because you can build a business strategy around the things that are stable in time."

— Benjamin Riley (@benjaminjriley) August 13, 2018

Thus, Bezos argues: "We know the energy we put into [lower prices, fast deliver] today will still be paying off dividends for our customers 10 years from now. When you have something that you know is true, even over the long term, you can afford to put a lot of energy into it."

— Benjamin Riley (@benjaminjriley) August 13, 2018

So, let's now think about this in the context of education and #edtech and how we learn. Most if not all the dialogue I see around the role of technology and education is about change and uncertainty. Vendors hype this narrative constantly. So too do edtech "thought leaders."

— Benjamin Riley (@benjaminjriley) August 13, 2018

In the education context, one thing that likely won't change is our cognitive architecture. I know, I know – we like devices! But our minds are the product of millions of years of evolution. They aren't getting rewired in a decade.

— Benjamin Riley (@benjaminjriley) August 13, 2018

And thus the conclusion?

And so I will now offer my edu-corollary to Bezos's business maxim: You can build an education strategy around the stability of our cognitive processes. And we should.

— Benjamin Riley (@benjaminjriley) August 13, 2018