Using the Future to Rethink Digital Learning

What is one assumption you hold about the future of digital learning that might be limiting what you see as possible right now?

Thinking about the future can feel overwhelming—especially in education. The pace of technological change, the rise of AI, and the shifting expectations of learners often make it seem like we’re chasing an unknown horizon. Faced with uncertainty, many educators and institutions try to predict what’s coming next and plan accordingly. But what if our obsession with prediction is part of the problem?

UNESCO’s concept of Futures Literacy (FL) offers a different approach. Instead of trying to forecast what’s ahead, Futures Literacy helps us use the future as a tool to better understand the present. Through interactive workshops called Futures Literacy Laboratories (FLLs), educators, learners, and leaders explore their assumptions about tomorrow—and, in doing so, unlock new ways to act today.

Here are five counterintuitive lessons from UNESCO’s work that can help transform digital learning across K–16 and higher education.

1. The Goal Isn’t to Predict the Future—It’s to Question the Present

In a Futures Literacy Lab, the focus isn’t on finding the “right” answer or building a perfect plan. Instead, participants learn to question the very assumptions that shape their understanding of the future.

In digital learning, this might mean asking:

• Why do we assume more technology equals better learning?

• What if “engagement” looks different in a digital space than it does in a classroom?

When we change how we imagine tomorrow, the challenges we see today begin to shift. Futures Literacy invites us to see problems not as fixed obstacles, but as opportunities for redefinition and innovation.

2. When It Comes to the Future, No One Is an Expert

UNESCO reminds us that no one has been to the future. This principle levels the playing field and makes every participant—student, teacher, or administrator—an equal contributor to imagining what’s next.

For K–16 and higher education, this is a radical idea. It means students’ voices are just as vital as policymakers’ when envisioning how learning evolves. When we remove hierarchy and invite diverse perspectives, we tap into collective intelligence—a powerful engine for creativity, inclusion, and innovation in digital education.

Participants exploring future scenarios in a Futures Literacy Lab

3. To See Today Clearly, You Must Imagine a Strange Tomorrow

One of the most transformative exercises in a Futures Literacy Lab asks participants to imagine a future that feels unfamiliar or even uncomfortable.

For example, what if traditional grading no longer existed? What if virtual reality replaced the physical classroom?

These “strange” scenarios are not predictions—they’re provocations. By exploring them, educators reveal hidden assumptions about what they value in learning: structure, control, time, and even trust. Once those assumptions are visible, new and more equitable designs for digital learning become possible.

4. Thinking About the Future Is a Discipline, Not a Daydream

Futures Literacy is not about idle speculation. It is grounded in four disciplined pillars:

• Learning through disruption

• Laboratories that provide safe environments for experimentation

• Collective intelligence that values all contributions equally

• Anticipation as a skill that distinguishes between probable, desirable, and reframed futures

Incorporating this discipline into teacher education, instructional design, or leadership programs can prepare educators to design digital learning that remains relevant even as technology evolves. The result is not just readiness for the future—it’s resilience in the present.

5. A Lab Is a State of Mind, Not a Place

The most empowering lesson of all? A Futures Literacy Lab doesn’t require a special space or expensive technology. It requires a mindset—one that fosters psychological safety, curiosity, and openness to new ideas.

Any classroom, meeting, or online course can become a “lab” when educators intentionally create a context for exploration and shared learning. This mindset turns every digital interaction into a space for reflection, innovation, and growth.

“Futures Literacy allows us to stop fearing the future—and start using it.”