The Future of Education

Martin Laba teaches at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. Dr. Laba's research includes: applied communication for social issues; media education; critical studies in education and digital media/technology; popular culture and education; pedagogical design; communication/education for social change. He developed the prominent and influential area of Applied Communication for Social Issues in the School of Communication, and he has researched, designed, and implemented a wide range of communication/media messages, strategies, and campaigns around critical social issues in local, national, and international contexts. These projects have included: HIV/AIDS communication around stigmatization; media literacy/media education; international development; community health/health communication; and more. Dr. Laba served as the Director of Academic Community Engagement for a major university-wide project to establish a new, open source educational technology platform, and his leadership refocused a technology design project as a teaching and learning project, and helped to develop and implement one of the most innovative and significant educational technology learning environments in North America, and around the globe. Dr. Laba is a prominent author, keynote speaker, and presenter at major international conferences and symposia. A selection of recent presentations/publications include: "Course Design, Pedagogic Methods, Evaluation and Critical Hope", The Unbounded Classroom: A Symposium on Teaching, Learning and Research for Democratic Participation", Vancouver, 2021; "No Normal: Communication and Consequential Education", Sixth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies, Common Ground, Toronto, 2021; "Pedagogical Invention and the Great 'Remote' Experiment", 11th International Conference on the Future of Education, Florence (remote), 2021; "Sites of Relevance" Popular Culture and Transformative Education", 10th International Conference on the Future of Education, Florence (Remote) 2020; "Out of Bounds: Learning for Consequence, Popular Culture, and Education as Action", Fifth International Conference on Communication and Media Studies, Common Ground, Toronto, 2020. Dr. Laba has also presented both opening and closing addresses at the Future of Education conference (2015 and 2017). He presented the inaugural lecture for the Jobless Society lecture series, "Education (r)evolution: Ripensare la formazione nell'era digitale", Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli (Milan, 2018).