[Keynote 1] Unlearning Standardization: Clues from Marginalized Learners

At Enuma, we build digital learning products for children outside the standard system, including those with disabilities or those lacking basic learning infrastructure. By applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL) through user experience design, we work to ensure learners stay motivated while exploring various choices and learning paths. Through this work, we confronted our own biases, rooted in mainstream education, that fail a vast number of diverse learners. As AI becomes increasingly capable of handling standardized tasks and knowledge, the industrial goal of standardization is losing its relevance. Instead, learners in the AI era will naturally be required to cultivate their unique strengths and differences. This transition challenges us to unlearn standardization itself. What if the core concept of Special Education—providing an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) based on each student’s unique strengths and resources—could be accessible to all learners? Drawing from Enuma’s practical experience, including designing for illiterate learners and building AI Digital Supplement for special education classrooms, this keynote will share clues on how mainstream education might evolve.