Ramble #3

This week's video comes from Rita Peirson... She has an amazing message about education!

This week in class we had a guest presentation from Manitoba Education on 'Web Based Courses'. The content was very informative and I really appreciated the detailed presentation.

During the presentation, when they were speaking about synchronous courses, I had a profound moment of thought. I thought to myself... "How crazy is it that we can teach students hundreds of miles away, but technically still be face-to-face." This thought then led into another thought..."It is truly amazing how much education has been transformed by technology in just a few decades." 

When I began schooling (1997) so much of what is possible in the classroom now, was not possible then. Heck, computers were just beginning to become popular mainstream items. I remember the introduction of "smartboards" into our classrooms in Grade 6. This was a big deal! You could draw onto a computer screen and move things around on the screen too! Now, "smartboards" are increasingly becoming obsolete to bigger and better technology. It truly is amazing how quickly technology is advancing.

It makes me wonder what technology will exist in my classroom when I have been teaching for 20 years. Simple mathematics tells me that will be roughly around the year 2029.  Wow, that year is something you envision to be part of a sci-fi book or film and certainly not reality... haha. What will be possible for students in 2029? Will there be virtual reality learning in which students can virtually become a white blood cell, or simulate a session of parliament? To be honest, I am inclined to believe that the answer to this question is YES. Virtual reality is already seeing a lot of attention in terms of development and funding. I think it is perfectly reasonable to assume that in 20 years students will come to class and put on their very own V.R goggles and "learn".

I am truly excited for the future of education knowing that new and exciting technology is being thought of and created daily. Teachers in 1950 would have never thought that a class could be taught "face-to-face" (webcam) where in which the teacher and students are hundreds of miles away from each other. 

It begs the question... what do teachers of 2016 not see coming in terms of educational technology?