The next normal arrives: Trends that will define 2021—and beyond

The next normal arrives: Trends that will define 2021—and beyond — from mckinsey.com by Kevin Sneader & Shubham Singhal

Excerpts:

The next normal is going to be different. It will not mean going back to the conditions that prevailed in 2019. Indeed, just as the terms “prewar” and “postwar” are commonly used to describe the 20th century, generations to come will likely discuss the pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 eras.

2021 will be the year of transition. Barring any unexpected catastrophes, individuals, businesses, and society can start to look forward to shaping their futures rather than just grinding through the present.

In this article, we identify some of the trends that will shape the next normal. Then we discuss how they will affect the direction of the global economy, how business will adjust, and how society could be changed forever as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

 

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly[a] with your God.

 

Google announces switch-off date for Android Things — from itpro.co.uk by Danny Bradbury
Google calls time on ambitious Android-in-everything project

Excerpt:

Google has put an official expiry date on an ambitious internet of things (IoT) project that failed to catch light: Android Things. In an announcement, the company warned developers wouldn’t be able to create new projects from the platform as of January 2021.

Launched in developer preview in 2016, Android Things is an embedded operating system designed to run low-power IoT devices with as little as 32 MB of memory. The operating system used a protocol called Weave, which Google announced simultaneously with Android Things, to communicate with other devices over Bluetooth Low Energy and Wi-Fi.

Also see:

Internet of Things device identification — from techlinkcenter.org
Air Force researchers have invented a wireless, non-intrusive system for authenticating Internet of Things (IoT) network devices, such as fitness trackers and smartwatches.

Excerpt:

IoT networks pose threats to the security and privacy of exchanged information. For example, different types of data breaches, such as information leakage and false data injection, may be initiated in one network device when connecting to another device. Implementing existing security techniques in IoT architectures may not be feasible because devices such as fitness trackers and smartwatches have less battery and processing power than computers or smartphones.

 

The transformative power of virtual courts

The transformative power of virtual courts — from raconteur.net by Ben Edwards

Excerpt:

At the Odeon cinema in Edinburgh’s Fort Kinnaird retail park, the movie posters have been taken down and the popcorn machines covered up as jurors take their seats in one of the four auditoriums to attend a virtual court hearing.

These remote jury centres have allowed the Scottish High Court to restart criminal trials by beaming live court action directly onto the cinema screen, allowing jurors to watch and hear evidence while maintaining social distancing, something that wouldn’t have been possible inside the main court building. With a further 11 screens available in Glasgow, the court is now back up to full capacity.

“The real beauty in this approach is it provides a way of scaling up; we have a model that works and can be applied anywhere,” says Tim Barraclough, executive director of the Judicial Office for Scotland.

Also see:

Reynen Court Now Lets You Take Legal Tech Products For A Test Drive — from legaltechmonitor.com by Bob Ambrogi

Excerpt:

Reynen Court, the platform that describes itself as the app store for legal technology, has introduced a new feature, appropriately called One-Click Test Drive, that makes it easy for law firms and legal departments to test products without having to buy them or negotiate trial licenses.

Using Test Drive, a user can quickly deploy a pilot of a pre-configured application in a secure environment. The application comes fully loaded with dummy data and transaction or case materials. It can be easily launched without requiring IT support.

Legal Tech Traditionally Favored Law Firms. That May Be Changing — from law.com by Frank Ready
Ironclad’s “State of Digital Contracting, Winter 2020: AI and the Elusive Promise of Smart Contracting” virtual event delved into how changes in service delivery models could help to drive a new wave of legal tech directed toward in-house attorneys and nonlawyers.

Excerpts from Working Remote: Advantages Gained from Legal Technology Adoption — from law.com
In this episode of the Perspectives podcast, sponsored by AbacusNext and hosted on Law.com, we’ll hear highlights from the September 9th presentation titled, Working Remote: Advantages Gained Through Legal Technology Adoption.

The Top 25 Artificial Lawyer Articles of 2020 — from artificiallawyer.com by Richard Tromans

What Is Quantum Computing and How Is It Disrupting Law Firms? — from lawtechnologytoday.org by Shannon Flynn

 

The State of AI in 2020 -- from McKinsey and Company

Where AI is being used most in 2020

From DSC:
I saw this item out at:

  • AI is delivering a growing share of earnings, says McKinsey — from which-50.com by Andrew Birmingham
    Excerpt:
    Some companies are generating an increasing share of the profits in a way that is directly attributable to AI, and the best performers are likely to increase their investments setting up a world of algorithmic leaders and laggards, according to a new paper from McKinsey & Company. Called The State of AI in 2020, the report notes that we could start to see a widening divide between AI leaders and the majority of companies still struggling to capitalise on the technology.

Also see:

 

Maths mastery through stop-motion animation — from innovatemyschool.com by Rachel Cully

Do you want your learners to be resilient, confident mathematicians with secure conceptual understanding and a love of Maths? Well, come with me to a land of stories and watch the magic unfold.

Maths mastery through stop-motion animation -- by Rachel Cully

Also see:

 

AI, 5G, and IoT will be the most important tech of 2021, IT leaders say — from itpro.co.uk by Nicholas Fearn
A new IEEE survey looks at the trends and challenges of IT leaders as 2021 fast approaches

Excerpt:

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, 5G, and the Internet of Things are predicted to have the most impact of all technologies in 2021, according to a new report.

Just under a third (32%) of CIOs and CTOs said that the technologies will be fundamental to their role next year, as businesses seek to recover from economic disruption and adapt to new working normals.

 

Digital transformation: 5 ways to balance creativity and productivity — from enterprisersproject.com by Andrew Parker
Creativity and productivity shouldn’t be opposing forces in your digital transformation efforts. Consider these tips to tap the power of both

Excerpt:

Creativity and productivity might sound like they’re poles apart: One is about thinking in new ways; the other is about making things happen.

But in successful digital transformation programs, the two go hand in hand – a perfect marriage of creative thinking that takes the latest technology innovations into account and productive action that brings those new ideas to life.

Today, creativity is more important than ever. As a result of the pandemic, organizations have been forced to think differently and to adapt quickly in order to stay relevant and survive. It’s a case of do or die.

In the wake of the pandemic, creativity is more important than ever.

From DSC:
Another important element here is developing/establishing a culture that is willing to innovate, adapt, experiment, and change. That is SO key in this type of transformation.

It’s clear to me that our people, and their willingness to be agile, innovate, test, and learn, were one of the “secrets” behind those successes. (source)

Also see:

By decentralizing the workforce, companies can attract talent anywhere in the world.

From DSC:
This means that our students must be able to collaborate and to create their deliverables — digitally/virtually/online.

 

Technologies that enable legal and compliance leaders to spot innovations — from helpnetsecurity.com
COVID-19 has accelerated the push toward digital business transformation for most businesses, and legal and compliance leaders are under pressure to anticipate both the potential improvements and possible risks that come with new legal technology innovations, according to Gartner.

Excerpt:

To address this challenge, Gartner lists the 31 must-watch legal technologies to allow legal and compliance leaders to identify innovations that will allow them to act faster. They can use this information for internal planning and prioritization of emerging innovations.

Also see:
(with a shoutout to Nicola Shaver for this resource)

legaltechnology hub dot com

Also see:

Envisioning the future of law — from abovethelaw.com by Ken Crutchfield
We’ve seen a transformation underway within the legal industry for some time now, and the pandemic is continuing to accelerate these changes.

Excerpt:

We’ve seen a transformation underway within the legal industry for some time now, and the pandemic is continuing to accelerate these changes. From what we have observed in recent months, many of the technologies that were reshaping the practice of law have now become necessary, and resistance to digital workflows is no longer a viable option for many legal professionals. In the midst of this transformation, we can draw some observations about how the industry can cope with what’s next. 

 

New Film Addresses Mental Health By Challenging Us To ‘Listen’ To Our Youth Voice — from gettingsmart.com by Michael Niehoff

New Film Addresses Mental Health By Challenging Us To Listen To Our Youth Voice

 


Also see:

IW Official Guide: World Mental Health Day Supporting the workplace during the pandemic and beyond

IW Official Guide: World Mental Health Day Supporting the workplace during the pandemic & beyond — from inspiring-workplaces.com by Aimee O’Leary

For World Mental Health Day 2020, we have created a quick guide of 10 top tips for you. It has been compiled from experts around the world on how to support the mental health of your people during these challenging times.

It includes:

  • How to do your part to break the stigma
  • How to create functional routines
  • How to look out for colleagues without being invasive
  • How to stay connected
  • and more

Lastly, before reading the guide, reach out to someone you know today, who you have haven’t spoken with in a while and simply ask… How are you, really? It will make a huge difference.

*****************

 


Addendum on 10/13/20:

As the Pandemic Grinds On, Here Are 5 Big Worries of College Presidents — from chronicle.com by Michael Vasquez

Excerpt:

Campus mental health is the No. 1 worry. The college leaders were asked to select their five top concerns from a list of 19 Covid-related issues. Fifty-three percent of presidents listed student mental health, and 42 percent pointed to faculty and staff mental health as being among their biggest worries. Anxiety, uncertainty, depression, and grief — compounded by the isolation of the pandemic — have exacted an often invisible toll on people who study and work in higher education.

 

Pay attention! Attention is a necessary condition for learning experience design, but poorly understood… — from donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com by Donald Clark

Excerpts:

Attention is to selectively focus your mind and effort on that which has to be learned. Attention matters as it is what manages new data that has to be processed in working memory. Focused attention narrows down input from sensory memory and your recall knowledge from long-term memory. At any moment in time attention is what determines what is processed. We must always be aware that attention is the bottleneck through which everything must go in learning, first into working memory, then if you successfully learn, into long-term memory. The selective nature of attention is what regulates and limits cognitive overload.

So, over a century of research has shown that attention is not one thing but a very complex phenomena. We select inputs, interpretations of those inputs, then select plans of action and actions themselves. Attention is tied up with motivation, interest, feelings and ultimately action. It is the basecamp for understanding how learning experiences should be designed.

 

From DSC:
Interest…motivation…this is why I’m a big fan of offering learners more choice. More control.

 

Transfer – why is it ignored? Here’s how to fix it… — from donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com by Donald Clark

Excerpt:

You must design with transfer in mind and blends or learning journeys must move learning forward towards action, towards doing, towards practice and performance. No matter how much training you deliver, it can be illusory in the sense of not leading to transfer from cognitive change to actual performance, which in turn has impact on the organisation.

Doing and Practice are experiences. In fact without doing or practice it is unlikely to be retained long-term. Your design must move from experiences that match whatever type of learning you need, cognitive, psychomotor and affective, but practice and application experiences also matter. Your design should provide transfer pathways towards mastery, through actual doing and practice in the formal learning as well as practice and extension activities beyond the initial learning experiences.

 

Heatherwick Studio designs flood-resilient park The Cove for San Francisco — from dezeen.com by Eleanor Gibson

Heatherwick Studio designs flood-resilient park The Cove for San Francisco -- from dezeen.com by Eleanor Gibson

Excerpt:

Slated for completion in 2026, The Cove is intended to provide a new hub of activity while addressing rising sea levels threatening the waterfront site and also consideration [of] its history.

From DSC:
Many years ago, my wife and I spent several years out in the San Francisco Bay area. I was there to go through SFSU’s Multimedia Studies Program. I have many good memories from our time out there. I hope to be able to take that road trip in 2026!

 

DC: You want to talk about learning ecosystems?!!? Check out the scopes included in this landscape from HolonIQ!

You want to talk about learning ecosystems?!!? Check this landscape out from HolonIQ!

Also see:

Education in 2030 -- a $10T market -- from HolonIQ.com

From DSC:
If this isn’t mind-blowing, I don’t know what is! Some serious morphing lies ahead of us!

 

Students need digital skills more than ever. We know because they’re telling us. — from jisc.ac.uk by Ruth Drysdale
As learners return to colleges and campuses, there’s no turning back from the online shift they’ve experienced this year. Embedding digital in both face-to-face and remote learning is more crucial than ever.

There’s been impressive change in the past six months, but we’ve also seen emergency measures, introduced at speed, as a ‘good enough’ sticking plaster solution. Students are telling us they need digital embedded into their courses. Now is the time to listen and respond, transforming approaches and delivering robust systems that can withstand the uncertainties ahead.

 
 
© 2025 | Daniel Christian