Gaming technology points way to future learning, says Nigel Shadbolt

World of Warcraft

Gaming is already pointing the way towards learning technologies of the future, according to ECS Professor Nigel Shadbolt.

In a futuristic report on learning technologies published today (17 June) by the Ufi, it is predicted that in the future we will all have all have digital personal assistants, learning will take place on the move, and palm held, and artificial intelligence and machines will have a greater influence in training.

The technology is all there already, led by the world of gaming, according to Professor Nigel Shadbolt. ‘A Holy Grail will be to convert the energy and time devoted to immersive virtual environments (Second Life) and Massive Multiplayer Games (Word of Warcraft) into learning environments and outcomes,’ he says.

The report, entitled 'Skills Evolution: A vision of the future of workplace skills', will be launched at the British Museum in London, with a keynote address by one of the report’s authors, Professor Lord Robert Winston.

The report was commissioned by Ufi, which provides skills and learning through technology, and brought together world-renowned futurologists and scientists, including Professor Shadbolt and Professor Wendy Hall of ECS, to predict the impact of emerging technologies on the way people learn, and the effect this will have on society and the workplace by 2020.