MEAL, Yes. Fasting, No.

Nothing like instant access to meals for everyone to survive. However, the talk here is about a different type of meal to thrive. That which ensures the unshackling of mental poverty and helps construct an educated world for peaceful coexistence. For that, the production, distribution, and consumption of MEAL would require the greater involvement of women, men, and machines among other resources. MEAL here implies Multiple Expertise Assisted Learning, with the purpose to extend the latent potential of any learner, even with attention difficulty, hyperactivity, impulsiveness, and the somewhat aimless. As a change, that learner can thrive in some meaningful way. Who knows, an unsuitable learner today can tomorrow become better than the best? There are many such ordinary-to-extraordinary inspirations from the past and present. Many more will be in the future, differently perhaps, with the adoption of MEAL.

MEAL is arguably a fresh attempt to bottle the contemporary and emerging edtech of computer and other media-assisted learning, value added by artificial intelligence, machine learning, mixed reality, blockchain, metaverse, and similar such technologies for wider and deeper personalized learning experiences and outcomes. Not to mention, any such MEAL would need the right mix of human skills like thinking, creativity, collaboration etcetera. Therefore, educators and learners will have to lend their hands for happy claps. Especially, in higher education, the human-skills identities of teachers, students, and the rest of the stakeholders eventually shall merge in the MEAL perspective. Where each and every participant in education will have to thrive as a learner first in at least more than one area of latent potential or expertise. That way, edtech will be seen as a requisite and not simply as an additive in the educational system.

Some of the key challenges in education, recently, have been the not-so-joyful continuity of blended learning amidst the free physical spaces on one side and the problem of plenty on the other with technology-aided learning, which is continuously getting accentuated by higher internet speed and higher quality of content outside the owned physical spaces. To address this technology-in-education delusion, MEAL can aim to strengthen the hybrid model of education for extending the personal choices, personal competencies, and personal capacities of participants for effective multipotentiality building for better results. According to the wiki, “multipotentiality is an educational and psychological term referring to the ability and preference of a person, particularly one of strong intellectual or artistic curiosity, to excel in two or more different fields”. Many will agree that traditional degrees today are less sought after by businesses. Rather, indicators of a multipotentiality in candidatures are much more welcome. Given the business times now, Jack of many trades may be more acceptable than being the master of just one. While, in sectors where specialists are preferred, related mastery in multiple specialties will be highly desirable for adapting to the increasing interdisciplinary contexts. Multiple expertise is the need of the times. No doubt about it. Anybody can find it from the internet literature and YouTube videos. One such is from Emilie Wapnick on the problem – “why some of us don’t have one true calling”, where her solution rests in the making of a multipotentialite. She coined that term to describe?individuals with many intellectual interests and creative pursuits and their abilities to excel in two or more different fields. Accordingly, the multipotentialites would not be very keen on becoming specialists. Instead, they would pursue a wide range of interests with many groups of friends and they foster connections based on shared interests. Likewise, MEAL would support multiple expertise to emanate exceptional talents in multiple fields and to make a career out of any of them as a pivot and be able to switch gears when necessary.

In conclusion, the ingredients for MEAL are unlimited. The onus shall rest on the physical education system and edtech to design and deliver MEAL according to the tasteful and quality-over-time demands of buyers. It has to be easily accessible, affordable, and adaptive. NO FASTING this MEAL, please.?