Areas of expertise
- Using tools and techniques, such as scenarios and experiential futures, to facilitate and engage audiences
- Examining trends that shape the future of learning
- Design thinking for education innovation
Jason Swanson is the senior director of strategic foresight at KnowledgeWorks, where he leads research exploring the future of learning. An award-winning futurist, Jason develops forecasts, sensemaking tools, immersive experiences and artifacts from the future to help education stakeholders navigate change and shape what’s next. He leads the organization’s independent strategic foresight engagement practice, designing and delivering foresight engagements for a variety of clients. Jason supports the integration of foresight into education systems at the state and district levels and is a frequent contributor to the organization’s strategic foresight publications and resources.
“I help people think of change in a different light and broaden their understanding of what’s possible. The future is not a fixed point – we can play an active role in shaping it.”
He holds a B.A. in Public Policy from West Chester University and an M.S. in Foresight from the renowned program at the University of Houston. Jason also serves as a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the Remake Learning Council and serves on the boards of the Association of Professional Futurists and Write Pittsburgh.
Featured work
A frequent speaker and workshop facilitator, Jason brings futures thinking to life for education leaders across the country. He collaborates regularly with his colleagues to design and deliver presentations and immersive experiences for state, regional and national audiences. Through engaging sessions and accessible thought leadership pieces, Jason helps education stakeholders understand and act on emerging trends, translating KnowledgeWorks’ forecasts into forward-looking visions for the future of learning. His work has helped lead education constituents to prepare for a world of artificial intelligence.
- How Engaging with the Future Impacts Strategic Planning Today: When an immersive futures experience Jason co-designed for SxSW EDU, an attendee from Avonworth School District in Pennsylvania asked KnowledgeWorks to recreate for their district to help participants explore possible futures of learning for their learning community – and what is possible today.
- Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence in Education: Jason talks with Steve Nordmark, founder and consultant of Learning Community Insight, LLC, to explore how artificial intelligence will shape classrooms – revolutionizing teaching methods, student engagement and education equity.
- Accelerating toward what?: Simply adding technologies to education systems does not change them in any fundamental way. Jason provides insights, considerations and guidance into how educators can work with accelerating technologies and the shared existential challenges they bring.
- A Tool for Exploring Plausible, Probable, Possible and Preferred Futures: Jason explains how tools like the cone of plausibility help establish a vision for what we want for the future.
- Innovation One Step at a Time: David Cook, former director of innovative learning at Kentucky Department of Education, joins Jason for a recorded conversation on how Kentucky has been quietly innovating the state’s public education system over the past decade to create a more vibrant future of learning that serves every student in the state’s education system.
