Hi all, and welcome to the third and final installment in the “Envisioning Technology” series. Today, it’s the “Future of Education Technology” that’s up for all to see. Much like their speculative work on Future Tech and the Future of Medicine, they present us here with an infographic that shows the interrelated fields of educational technology and how growth in one will inevitable lead to change in others.
On the one hand, we see a gradual transition from the Classroom (i.e. traditional educational environment) to the Studio environment, where a peer and group dynamic becomes the focus, rather than classic teacher-student transmission. In the final environment, learning becomes Virtual, divorced from any specific geographical context – i.e. it happens wherever you are, not just in a classroom or academic institution.
Also, through an incorporation of various education and education-related technologies, six steps are discerned within this process. As usual the entire process is traced from the present day to 2040, with many of the necessary technologies already in existence or in the process of development.
As a teacher, I was rather fascinated to see this, as it illustrates much of what was being espoused when I was still in teacher’s college. Back then, the concept of the post-modernist classroom was all the rage, even though there were many who insisted that this movement had passed.
Intrinsic to the concept was the deconstructing the traditional learning paradigm and even the classroom environment. Openness was the new rule, individuation the new philosophy and building on a student’s existing knowledge and experience, rather than simply handing them the curriculum and evaluated their assimilation thereof.
Naturally, many of us felt the same about all the concepts and ideas that were being thrown at us, in that they seemed highly idiosyncratic and theoretical. Missing from just about all the articles, studies and lectures we heard on the subject was mention of how this was to be done. Lectures on applied technology and new methods, on the other hand, seemed much more effective. Whereas the theory seemed to be commenting on trends that were happening, or still needed to happen, these lectures seemed to be showing us how.
Kind of makes you think… and in a way, I’m reminded of what men like George Orwell said. In 1984 (Goldstein’s Manifesto, to be specific), he claimed that the advent of modern industry and education had removed the basis of class distinction and elitism. By the 20th century, when totalitarian philosophies emerged, humanity was closer to the state of true equality that Marx predicted than ever before. Granted, that road has been fraught with bumps and attempts at subversion, but the general trend seems pretty clear.
Perhaps we’re seeing something of the same thing here with the emergence of IT and what people like Foucault, Derrida and Habermas predicted. The breakdown of singular standards, the opening of discourse, the plurality of perspective and opinions. Perhaps they weren’t just speaking off the cuff or stuck in an esoteric bubble. Maybe they were just picking up on trends which were yet to come to true fruition.
Makes me think, at any rate. But then again, that’s the point isn’t it?
Stories by Williams 
I’m not exactly sure that all this stuff will happen exactly as you say, but I do think technology is changing the way schools and education work.
Oh of course not, it’s all speculative at this point. That’s part of the fun, but it’s also where a lot of angst comes in. All the predictions inevitably seem to fall flat, the truth always seems stranger, you know the drill..
i do think classrooms should be more social in learning, though. that, and perhaps curriculums should be more geared to students’ strengths rather than making them well-rounded, at least until college.
Reblogged this on Digg with me and commented:
Future education system will be changed in very techie manner. Student will attend classes online from anywhere they like. Its just the beginning a lot more to come.
I would like to see more individualized education plans. Using the required materials as jumping points and helping students to learn how to tie materials into their true interests. By making the required material more relevant to the individual, the student has to take more ownership of his or her own education. This would have to blend more self-directed learning into regular curriculum. I see this being specially helpful for smart students who do poorly and drop out because they are marginalized at school and for the lower performers who think they can’t ‘get it’. That was my plan but, somehow, I never ended up in the classroom.