In 1994, the Digital Corporation produced this sexy preview of what the Web had to offer the world. They titled it “VisionShift.” Less than fifteen years later, look how this “Web” has evolved into a phone platform with personalized, location-based offerings that far exceed our wildest dreams in 1994.
Many have seen Pattie Maes’ TEDTalks on the Sixth Sense technology that is currently feasible for less than a topflight phone…
The question is not, “Will this really become available?” Nor even “When?” The question for us to address is,
“Honestly, what might Sixth Sense become in fifteen years time that we can’t even imagine right now?”
Now let’s add a kicker:
“What are schools doing so that students’ can take advantage of such personal learning potential?”
Watch the video Did You Know 3.0 and ask yourself what implications this has for your teaching? How can we prepare for a future that we don’t know enough about.
Ask Students
What areas of employment would you like to be involved in?
Think about how people will communicate in the future. What will this look like?
What will happen to people without an internet connection or web device?
What happens to those people who are not computer/technology literate?
Discuss the comment “By 2012 a supercomputer will be built that exceeds the computational capabilities of the human brain”.
What does this all mean for us?
My Thoughts
Preparing our students for the future will mean more about teaching them to think, learn and be critical thinkers rather than teaching content. Content will be available at the touch of a button. Interpreting that content and using it effectively will be the challenge of future generations.
