photo credit: squant I think it would be fair to say that most of the education delivered to pupils in schools during the last couple of centuries has followed a ‘push’ model of delivery. That is to say that what is taught to pupils and the way(s) in which it is taught has been determined by a central body, usually the school, the teacher, perhaps the local authority or district or the central government. That is not to say that there have not been elements of a ‘pull’ method of delivery; where the learner has the decision what they want to learn and, maybe, how they want to learn it. Such a system, though, has probably only been evident in Higher Education, where potential students have had the opportunity to decide which institution they wish to attend and base that decision upon which subject(s) are offered by the institutions. It would be quite foolish to suggest that 20th century education was all ‘push’ and  that 21st century education will be all ‘pull’ in design and delivery. Nevertheless, I do feel we shall see more of the ‘pull’ style entering our school systems in the coming years. I feel that schools would be foolish not to prepare for this; failing to do so will only lead to a reduction in enrolment numbers and the possible closure of schools. So, to allow for a ‘pull’ system in which learners choose what they wish to learn, where and when they wish to learn and the method of learning, schools need to become adaptable and technology will be an important tool in this. Delivery of learning will not merely be in the classrooms but also via online and mobile delivery. It is quite possible that learners will no longer be enrolled only in one institution but will be able to join a number of institutions to study different subjects. Distance learning and non-timebased learning will become much more important. Schools should also consider that they can now use technology to attract distance learners from other countries, well beyond their traditional locality or catchment areas. In order to do this, the technology needs to be in place and staff have to be prepared fully to utilise it. So, if I say that there is likely to be more ‘pull’ in the delivery of education in the 21st Century, what implications does that have for teachers? Well, it does suggest that teachers will need to become more savvy in their use of technology, it may also mean that they have to present their subject in new ways to help make themselves stand out from other teachers. Rather than the use of technology, though, or the choice of pedagogy, perhaps the biggest hurdle for current teachers would be the idea of marketing themselves and their approach to potential learners. We have already started to see the emergence of ‘super teachers’ in some parts of the world, though this may just be one ‘extreme’ form of marketing for teachers. We see certain ‘star’ teachers presenting their lessons on websites such as educator.com or thinkwell.com . Again, many teachers may feel uncomfortable with this type of approach but, I feel, this could be the future direction. Even Sal Khan of Khan Academy has become well known as an educator and, to the best of my knowledge, he is not a fully qualified teacher.