Progressive education is a movement that encompasses many educational techniques and views, some of which trace back to the past when John Locke and Jean-Jack Rousseau expressed their views, and some of which have emerged from the study of contemporary scientists, but all these techniques and views have an underlying common point: that “twenty first century skills attainment must take place in emerging, active environments” (Ornstein, Levine, Gutek, Foundations of Education, p. 454). As far as the role of learner in the process of teaching - learning, and the educational techniques and tools, is concerned, some of the characteristics of Progressive Education, are the importance of learning by doing, critical thinking and problem solving, collaborative and cooperating learning projects, integration of entrepreneurship, and varied learning resources. 

The contemporary study on the use of technology to empower the learner has shown that the role of technology in active learning is extremely encouraging regarding both the role of the learner and the outcomes on knowledge attainment. The work of Dr Jeremy Bailenson and his colleagues (https://vhil.stanford.edu/news/2015/immersive-science-learning-in-virtual-reality/) about the use of virtual reality in teaching the effects of climate change on marine life and coral reefs, gives rise to some thoughts to broaden the aspects of active learning to that of “immersive learning”. The participants of this experiment could “dive” into the ocean and experience with their own senses the devastation of the underwater life due to ocean acidification caused by human action. Dr Bailenson and his colleagues have shown that the use of virtual reality can significantly change peoples thoughts regarding climate change. 

From this point of view, virtual reality may place the active learning process in a different stage, from that of searching and interacting with others resulting in making a new knowledge product/artifact, to that of immersing into knowledge. Following the pace of technology, virtual reality has made its first appearance into the learning environment too. Not only have the learners the opportunity to look at some images and learn about something via readings and media, but they can be “transferred" in different places with the help of virtual trips (https://www.google.com/edu/expeditions/#about). They can observe the whole world in front of their eyes and feel like they are almost there, and write down their observations, have discussions with their classmates, and compare their observations. That way they gain complete agency of learning, and instead of knowledge consumers, they become knowledge producers. 

The techniques in Progressive Education which give that scope of agency to the learner are unlimited. The integration of entrepreneurship in the process of learning is of paramount importance in the 21 century. In her talk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13gPGAxEbzo), Dr. Esther Wojcicki exhibited the ability of her students to acquire the skill to design and launch publications with the help of technology and the existence of vast sources of information. Not only do the students search and learn about topics they are interested in and they want to talk about, but they also simultaneously obtain technical skills (with the use of computers and programs), skills of collaboration (they have to interact with other students and members of the society), skills of entrepreneurship (they have to learn how to advertise in order to raise funds for their publications), problem solving and many more. 

All these paradigms of progressive educational techniques indicate that the learner can be a knowledge designer and the product of the learning process is an artifact, and not just long term memory aspiring to be used for the shake of some tests. But they also indicate much more, that the main goal of education is not only cognition but the acquisition of important skills people are expected to have in the work race of the 21st century. 

1. Cooperative learning: Ornstein, Levin, Gutek, Foundations of Education, p.449

2. 21 Century Skills: Ornstein, Levin, Gutek, Foundations of Education, p.453

3. Virtual reality in schools:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ_whw6oSv4

4. Technology Enhanced Instruction:Ornstein, Levin, Gutek, Foundations of Education, p.454

5. Progressive Education: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_education