Comments on: Classroom 2025: The Future of Education

By: alytapp

alytapp — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:18:33 +0000

We’ll still have students who don’t feel like learning, no matter how we structure the learning task. Furthermore, if students don’t gather in school all day, we need to address the issue of supervision when they are engaged in their individually-designed curriculums. In other words, we can do away with bricks and mortar, but we’ll still have children who may or may not want to be learning. Perhaps the role of the teacher will change entirely. Perhaps some will go into the profession to be social managers who coach, mentor, motivate, and supervise students, while others go into the profession to share specific content knowledge and expertise. The former would be the f2f teachers, while the latter may be very far away and helping students from all corners of the world.

By: shellterrell

shellterrell — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:05:21 +0000

I do hope that e-portfolios are the norm in the future as well as several of the ideas you presented. Unfortunately, ideas like collaboration and cooperative education have been around for decades. Only now are these theories beginning to be applied in schools. However, I believe governments are beginning to realize the importance of students being digitally competent and making policy to mimic this sentiment. As we now with NCLB, government does fuel school initiative. Two policies you may have heard about last month are Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision to reduce the California budget by replacing textbooks with e-books and Governor Bill Ritter’s announcement to propose policies that implement the use of Ipods and other technologies in the classroom.

By: Jerry Green

Jerry Green — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:03:50 +0000

I think your vision is great. It is definilty within the realm of possibility that 15 years from now, most of what you envision could come true.

The only question I would have would be about equality. I teach in a K-6 school district where almost 90% of the students are on free lunch. As a result, a very low percentage of the students/families have computers or internet access at home, and the only place around with free access is the library – over 2 miles away from half the schools. We are working on a plan to allow parents computer access at school (which also has very few computers), but that is in it’s infancy.

So, my question is, in the year 2025, will there be a program/plan that would insure ALL students/families/schools have equal access to technology, regardless of their social economic status? It’s easier when there are several mobile laptop labs at school and most. if not all, of the students have one or more computers at home. But when a school district and the students do not have this, how can we make this vision happen for them?

Thanks again for the transcript!

By: Bethany Smith

Bethany Smith — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:40:21 +0000

I love the idea that the teacher is seen more as a facilitator and that students are put in charge of their own learning. It is not a new concept, but has been hard to implement, because it is difficult to evaluate. I think a portfolio is really the only way you could assess such individualized learning plans. I do agree with Kelli – a portfolio “management system” would need to be developed to help track & store in the easiest way possible.

I’m ready for this in 2025!

By: Marie COleman

Marie COleman — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:23:17 +0000

Neat ideas and, for me, ‘a long time coming’! Have you read the Mac Arthur Foundation report – The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age? Good stuff!

By: Dianne Krause

Dianne Krause — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:42:30 +0000

In hindsight, I tend to agree that the year 2025 is probably too soon for this vision to become a reality. Maybe by the year 2050 … ?

By: John Strange

John Strange — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:36:37 +0000

I have assigned your project for my students to watch and contemplate as they prepare for a podcast on whether all teachers should be “technologically literate” and what that means anyway.

Here’s an issue to consider. In my most cynical moments it appears to me that the most “valuable” part of schools to most parents is the schools’ “baby sitting” functions. If so, can we ever achieve the dream you have?

You might like to see the other materials I have gathered for my class even though I suspect that you have already seen most. I especially call to your attention the 3 short presentations by Richard Miller of Rutgers University. To find these posts (there are six separate posts covering a dozen or so presentations) go to my class blog at http://edm310summer09.blogspot.com
Scroll down until you find the post “And Even More…” That post and the 5 that follow constitute the materials I am currently asking my students to review and contemplate.

If you have additional suggestions, I would greatly appreciate them.

I really enjoyed your presentation and you can see that I am putting your thoughts to work! Thanks!

By: Wayne Basinger

Wayne Basinger — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:08:00 +0000

Dianne,

This is a fantastic video that has a great vision for what education can be like in the future. I really enjoyed your vision of using schools as a gathering place where people come together to work on collaborative projects. This would be a more effective use of the school property.

A couple of suggestions,

1) You may have mentioned it, but you could emphasize flexible timing for the community center to be open. This allows people to work with their schedules to teach and learn as they choose. We no longer need to enforce a learning schedule. Students and community members can teach and learn as their schedules and interests permit.

2) Your vision about national and international standards does not square very well with current reality. In America, we tend to be state driven. Many Americans do not even want national standards let alone international standards. You might want to include some information about world events that caused this radical shift.

3) I love the idea that most information is accessed via personal handheld devices, but how do poor students get these? You might want to include some information about equity.

This is an amazing project. I am teaching a web development class, and I would like to borrow this idea for that class. Terrific job!!!!

Thanks,
Wayne Basinger
Teacher, Cleveland HS
Reseda, CA

By: kelli murphy

kelli murphy — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 12:40:06 +0000

Very ambitious and idealistic but I am not sure it is reachable or plausible. I love many of the ideas but the reality of education is far beyond what we teach. It is also the community and families that help determine how things are done. For instance without brick and mortar classrooms where will the students be during the day? Home? Who will be there when the majority of the parents work all day??? This is an obvious problem of the virtual classroom. Not all jobs can be done virtually nor does everyone want to work from home.

The other thing that caught my attention is the virtual portfolio. I am not sure this would be followed through without some oversight. If you didn’t have to create one for your job or your teacher, would you do it? Many adults do continually learn but don’t keep track of things.

Good luck. As I said it was impressive.