Charting the Course of Teaching and Learning in a Networked World

Random thoughts about the future of education.

As they always say, ""we learn by trial and error." However, not everyone has to suffer when we can learn from others.

When transforming a traditional school into a high tech school, those involved in the decision making process should consider the following points:

- Ensure that buildings have adequate power to serve mass amounts of computers, projectors, document projectors, servers, etc. If not, plan on obtaining bids for an electrical system overhaul.

- When gathering bids for high the high tech transformation, make sure vendors are including the price of installation if it is expected.

- When considering bids for new buildings, ensure that the plans anticipate growth of technology.

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"Segue"

I can see the future of education moving into the home (home schooling) where the demand for power is spread out over a vast area, in turn reducing the power demand on large campuses.

I also see school campuses becoming smaller and located throughout the community serving students who cannot stay at home during the day for obvious reasons. These buildings will serve more as education centers where learning is facilitated rather than dictated

Over all I can Imagine the reduction of property taxes needed to support large school buildings, large student populations, massive electrical system upgrades, and mass transportation.

The relationship between community and school can become closer-knit, making students' educational experience much safer and parental involvement more convenient.

This is what I see. Please help me out. Is all of this possible, even logical. Why or why not?

Tags: consciuos, education, energy, future

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Permalink Reply by E. Alana James on February 24, 2010 at 7:20am

I sent your post on for comments and links to my followers for the Future(s) Of Education Network - why Future(s) because there will be more than one.

YES - I see the reality you picture being the ONLY one that will emerge in many parts of the world (and ours is an international perspective. If the bricks and mortar were never successful in much of India, Africa and Parts of South America then this new way may have a chance of leapfrogging those environments past the developed world with new designs.

Consider: when students in Scotland were asked to design a new school they designed drop in centers.
New Zealand after years of research is moving away from curricular standards to competencies (see all about it at: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-documents/The-New-Zealand...

Also as I am sure you are aware, Christensen, et al predict that by 2020 50% of the developed world's students will be taught at least partially online.

We can also add in the success in homeschooling as an alternative throughout the US + the increases in augmented reality - soon enough students will be able to walk their city streets and get tutorials on the local history as they pass the sites.

Jeffrey - two things: 1) I will invite you as a colleague here, and 2) I hope you might consider hosting a three meeting discovery process if you know of others who would like to entertain these and other ideas about how education systems might evolve: www.futureofeducaitonproject.net is an international project based on the idea that when education research is addressed by people around the world, with the tensions everyone in education is feeling that new systemic ideas such as yours will emerge. As groups tease out how they might work we will upload them to foster more conversation in other parts of the world as well.

We believe the next designs in education will emerge from some people and places other than those who are in power now.

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Permalink Reply by Jeffrey Fuller on February 24, 2010 at 9:48am

Thank you, I will be glad to participate.

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Permalink Reply by sophica on August 16, 2011 at 2:36am

"I can see the future of education moving into the home (home schooling) where the demand for power is spread out over a vast area,"

Good to know about this.

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Permalink Reply by Fernando Gomez on August 26, 2011 at 12:34pm

I believe that the future of education is about schools without walls, teachers that jump way beyond geographical boundaries and extend their teaching reach to several classrooms in any place of the world in real time, that help students to achieve their full potential for learning through powerful social learning tools. Teachers who teach students in the way they live, through mobile technology.

So, despite technology, teachers are going to continue being the most important for student's learning experience.

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