Your source for ebooks, research, and publications developed by the Onyx community.
Open-access information and insights for international Education 3.0 stakeholders.
What is Onyx?
Onyx is the lifelong learning network devoted to providing digital learning experiences for all adult learners.
Our research and writing focus on the global education technology industry, Academic Engineering, international higher education, and Strategic Personal Development.
About Onyx Education 3.0
What is Education 3.0?
Education 3.0 is a term describing the present innovations and future developments to come in the Education field. This includes the ways we learn, the institutions and educators we learn from, and everything else concerning how we take in and share information. We are entering a new era of global learning, fueled by the opportunities and environments being brought about by modern digital advancements. This new era builds upon the methods from previous centuries, and is taking us in new directions where Onyx aims to be a leading research & development organization.
Education 1.0
Education 1.0 is the historical foundation of teaching and learning. From the one-room schoolhouse to the college lecture hall with hundreds of students, it is characterized by a one-way flow of knowledge. The teacher makes the decisions of what to learn, how to learn it, and often does the majority of the talking in class.
The earliest learning theories and academic models follow this pattern, and it remained the most commonly used until the late 1900s. The creation of the first digital learning environments brought about our transition to Education 2.0.
Education 2.0
Education 2.0 introduced the capability for asynchronous and interconnected learning. Early versions of this movement were observable in correspondence courses and other methods of providing a learning experience that was not bound by the limits of the classroom. However, its prominence really began to take hold as courses moved online.
Learning then began to include recorded lectures, discussion forums, open-access resources, flipped classroom models, and many other features that increased access and possibilities. These developments have rapidly accelerated in recent years, and we begin to move into Education 3.0 as we learn from the strengths and weaknesses of Education 1.0 & 2.0.
Education 3.0
With every new stage of Education’s development, we see the focus of communication, agency, and the overall learning experience moving from one-way toward bidirectional and multidirectional patterns. The relationships of students to their teachers and towards each other are more collaborative, and are becoming more about facilitating an ongoing experience than transferring predetermined information.
Virtual worlds, mobile-first content, microlearning, and many other innovations increase the level of engagement for modern learners. Further, the populations of participants in all roles and stages of the learning process are expanding, as well as the available resources they have to use.
At Onyx, we develop innovative learning experiences for adult learners to thrive and take advantage of the opportunities presented by the digital world. Our mission is to provide the tools & training any learner needs for success in the classroom and beyond. We hold the view that the ability to learn efficiently and effectively forms the foundation of all other skills, and that technology can help us reduce the friction we experience along life’s journey.
Academic Engineering
While digital learning offers a variety of new opportunities, they are not always embraced or effectively deployed. We take a continuous approach to designing & developing learning experiences by combining a multidisciplinary approach with ambitious goals and rigorous quality standards. Educational innovation has historically lagged behind other areas of society, and changing this state of affairs requires pioneering new avenues for progress.
Learning Organizations
Organizational development is a continuous process that requires a focused approach to providing the channels and opportunities for people to do their best work. We emphasize the importance of organizations to take a learning-first approach that leads to reducing friction, avoiding process & procedure calcification, and increasing collaboration. While the implementation process of learning initiatives changes across industries, there are fundamental principles that can be applied in a wide variety of contexts. We focus on articulating these principles and assisting organizations in the pursuit of their successful application.
Digital Lifelong Learning
Online education fueled by the data-driven aspects of modern life means that the digital world provides many more channels for ongoing development than existed in the past. We focus on identifying maximizing the ways our community members can take advantage of these opportunities, and what tools & techniques will help along the way. This starts in the classroom and extends to every area of daily life with equal measure.
Strategic Personal Development
The ability to identify the topics we want to learn and the skills we need to succeed in an organized manner is a vital component of personal development. We approach this systematically through the most innovative methods and best technology available. Design Thinking, Self-Directed Learning, and Talent Stacking are some of the ways we bring our process to life, and each Onyx Education experience results in an actionable outcome that is directly relevant to learners progressing along their journeys.
