What’s in the future? Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. – Malcolm Little
I was watching a report about education institutes on the news the other day. It was comparing graduation rates across the US state to state. Iowa, my home state proud to say, had the highest graduation rate with 88% while the nation’s capital lurked around the bottom of the list at 59%.
As I watched it made me think of the questions posed for this blog posting:
- Will education as we know it change because of technology? - Where and how will you be teaching in 5, 10, 15 years time?
This is my 19th year teaching. In that time I’ve seen huge advancements in technology within the educational setting. Has it influenced the way people teach? Sure it has. Has it always been for the better. No. Will it continue to influence education in the future? Without a doubt.
In the newscast it talked about the common trends of education institutions in America: public, charter, private and online schools.
Educational Institution Pros and Cons (Fox News)
I’ve known friends to teach in all of these different settings, but the online learning is where I see education growing more and more.
The ability to collaborate with someone overseas, deliver education to those that live in rural areas, or offer “at your own pace” classes is becoming more appealing to people’s busy lives.
With online resources like University of the People, GCF Learning, and Khan Academy more people are turning to technology for learning. I wonder if the graduation rates in the states with the lowest percentages would rise if students were given the opportunity to do more online learning.
According to Dan Pink one of our drives/ motivators in life because we naturally find that things are interesting. We want to learn. We want to be engaged and succeed. We want to be part of a community. If allowing kids to learn what they want to learn at their own pace apposes them dropping out of school, then why not provide them with the opportunity to further their education online.
Already I’ve seen my role in the classroom shift from presenter to coach over the past twenty years. I see this trend continuing into the future. Not everything will be like a flipped classroom, but I see teachers moving to working as a coach as students gain content from online resources.
The video below, by C. G. P. Grey, discusses the future of education through technology called Digital Aristotle. It discusses the concept of each person having a tailored education program online suited for their learning style and level. From the way I’ve seen education moving, it makes a lot of sense.
