The classroom for the educators’ future would feature a wonderful world of technology. There are many ways to look into the future especially when discussing education. There are things that we have not even heard of yet that will appear in the educational environment in the future of our students. It is amazing as to how much things have changed over the years, and seem to be changing at a higher rate as the years go by. With education going towards the use of more technology daily, the educational environment of the future needs to include but not be limited an individually based plan for each student. No two students learn the same way and at the same rate. With the use of technology the educators will be able to have a large classroom of students with all of them having different educational paces, while learning the same information.
The future holds a tremendous amount of technology in the classroom. A class without paper and clutter, because it is all electronic, the students having the capabilities to go on virtual field trips and work in groups even from home without having to leave their home. When the student walks into the educational environment, they should feel a sense of security and have the want to be in school. Technology is a way to help the students achieve this need. The room will have tables in groups of four around the room so that the students can have to capabilities to work in groups if and when they are needed. The tables are tall enough that if the student would like to stand they would have the opportunity to do so, and they would have stools in the chance that they would rather sit down or just lean on something while working. The Educator will have a computer desk with a desktop PC, iPad, printer, scanner and a laptop. The teacher will also be able to overtake and control the student devices to assist them in showing them what needs to be done and how to do it, if necessary. The educator will also be able to send and receive messages to and from the students individually or in groups to keep them up to date and allow them assistance with assignments. (The technology classes at Vidor High are capable of this at the current time)
Each group of tables will have one laptop computer and an iPad. The students will also have the option to bring their own technology devices to school if they have them. “The class, and the Kyrene School District as a whole, offer what some see as a utopian vision of education’s future. Classrooms are decked out with laptops, big interactive screens and software that drills students on every basic subject. Under a ballot initiative approved in 2005, the district has invested roughly $33 million in such technologies.” (The Classroom of the future, New York Times, Matt Richtel, Sept. 3, 2011) Allowing the students to bring their own devices will allow the students the opportunity to be able to store all of their educational classes on their device and carry it to and from school. The students having the chance to use their phones as educational devices will put a whole new spin on the view of phones in the school day. “Mobile learning will revolutionize school as we know it, with interactive textbooks, videos, 3D animation, and illustrations at students’ fingertips, bringing concepts to life,” said Raymond Ward, Pearson vice-president for Texas (Classrooms of the future: New Digital Textbooks and other Mobile Technology to help prepare Texas students for College and Beyond, Chron.com, Feb. 16, 2012). Around the room will be more pieces of technology for the students to experience. Instead of chalk boards, the educational environment will have smart boards so the educator will be able to lector from her own computer as well as have the students interact with the lessons on the smart boards. The room will have flat screens on every wall so that the students can watch videos, have web conferences with other educators as well as interact with students from around the world. The room will have a pull down screen available for slide show presentations that are built by the students for projects that are necessary for their educational needs as well as other things that they could be used for. “The classroom of the future would resemble a room in Second Life - a total virtual experience with avatars.==>with collaborations, vconferencing, sharing, wikis, and podcasts. An amazing environment - on the internet.” (Classroom of the future: Learning Trends, Jan. 17, 2008, Anonymous)
Each group of tables will be connected to a printer, scanner and a fax that will be located along the back wall of the room. These items will also help the students with their interaction with others around the world as well as around their own town or school. The town would hopefully have a city wide wifi, so that the students can continue their educational needs at home and be able to work in study groups while at home.
With the advances that we face in our future are the way of the world and the way that our students of today will be living. With this information it is vital that we are open minded enough to allow them to expand their way of thinking to be able to adapt to what they are facing in their future careers, whether it be as an educator or any other occupation. Our schools are even being judged based on the ratio of students to computers. “This ratio has been used to determine the ability of schools to provide “quality” education.” (Classroom of the future, Human-Computer Interaction Lab, University of Maryland)
References:
(Classrooms of the future: New Digital Textbooks and other Mobile Technology to help prepare Texas students for College and Beyond, Chron.com, Feb. 16, 2012)
(Classroom of the future, Human-Computer Interaction Lab, University of Maryland, copyright 2006)
(The Classroom of the future, New York Times, Matt Richtel, Sept. 3, 2011)
(Classroom of the future: Learning Trends, Jan. 17, 2008, Anonymous)
(Vidor High School, technology plans and goals, vidorisd.org)
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