Are We Meeting the Needs of Students in the 21st Century?

Created by:

David Stegall

Jennifer Cash

Sylvia White

The 21st Century

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"Education in 2025" Video

Contributed By:

Nicole Scism

In researching the future of technology in education, a video of particular interest came to my attention. The video, entitled "Education in 2025," explores the quintessential question that asks, "How, where, and in what fashion will the learning process take place sixteen years from now? How will the path to learning be different from what we see in the educational system today?"

Thompson, Tyler. (2008, November 30). Education in 2025. Video posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwbHn7gg1IE

In the opening frame of the video, we see words being marked in chalk on a board that profoundly state, "How will this look in 2025?" (Thompson, 2008). Then, in consecutive flashes across the screen, the viewer is invited to ponder, "Will there be libraries?........Will there be teachers?........Even virtual ones?" (Thompson, 2008). It is difficult to fathom the notion that one day teachers, the "great givers of wisdom," may no longer be required to stand in front of a class full of students imparting knowledge in the traditional sense. There will come a day when hand-held technology will replace the classroom. The Appalachian Trail will become the facilitative learning environment, rather than the cinder-block, "cookie-cutter" walls of the local county school system or college. In watching this video, the notion came to me that one day technological devices will receive signals from satellites no matter where an individual is located and no cost will be associated with this service. One will no longer be faced with the need to install a router at one's home or place of business because signals will be transmitted tirelessly from satellites with no monthly fees, and turning on a technological device in the middle of Antarctica to communicate with the "outside world" will be as simple as turning on the television set in your living room. As we proceed through the video, we see an instructor sitting at the front of a classroom, lecturing from a printed document to a classroom lined with rows of empty seats! How close to reality is this metaphor for the future of education? In 1984, at least some of us were eighth-graders and had never seen a computer, nor did we have any idea that the Internet was just around the corner and would change our lives forever. Now, only twenty-five years later, we can envision this classroom without students being supplanted by individuals walking down the street, engaged in learning via Bluetooth devices complemented by fashionable glasses reflecting projected images of instructor and/or video tutorials to the naked eye. Once the video sets the stage for where education is evolving from, we viewers are propelled into the possibilities of where we, as educators and students, are headed in the upcomong decades. For example, "Education in 2025" spashes the screen with Facebook, Flickr, Digg, MySpace, YouTube, online maps, Skype, and Utilium being used as online educational classroom formats and resources. Gone are the Scantron objective test answer sheets and, in their place, are portfolios, self-assessments, and collaborative group assignments. Technology in 2025 can be described as an "...extradordinary learning environment [that] allows for student ENGAGEMENT as the learner and educator COLLABORATE to construct knowledge through DISCOVERY and EXPLORATION" (Thompson, 2008). Based on all the wonderful, new things I have learned in the few, short months since the beginning of our MA in Instructional Technology, there is little doubt that the range of technology as facilitator to the learning experience is only limited to the imagination. Our exposure to technology in this program has only opened the door to the inventiveness of our collective imaginations. It is through the collaboration of individuals like ourselves and the infusion of our ideas into the public school system and beyond that this dream of future technology in the classroom can become a reality.

21st Century School in North Carolina: A Vision

Digital Scent Technology

Contributed By:

Nicole Scism

Digital scent is one of the latest developments in technology. This recent approach to interpreting online or computer generated information has the potential to change the way in which students around the world respond to classroom activities. According to a recent "Digital Scent Technology" blog, "Smell reaches out into a new, visceral dimension, transporting viewers...into the realm of the senses" (Digital Scent Technology Blog, 2009). Appealing to the sense of smell draws the participant into the computer-based experience including, but not exclusive to, the following ways:


makes content extremely immersive and compelling
creates mood, such as foreshadowing or ambiance
intensifies emotions, such as fear or love
establishes place and season
helps develop characters
gives a heightened sense of reality


(Digital Scent Technology Blog, 2009).


Think of the implications this approach to teaching can have in the classroom! From an English Literature perspective, an educator can use this technology to his or her advantage in guiding students through the process of developing effective writing skills. In stressing the importance of mood and foreshadowing, students could be exposed to smells of decay, cigarette smoke, and perfume as a stimulus to lead them into the creation of a descriptive or narrative paragraph. Students could be prompted with the smell of burning leaves, smoke from a fireplace, or freshly mown grass to propel them into recalling a particular time and place. By providing students with a higher perception of reality, they should be more at ease in the process of writing or recording thoughts because of the presence of heightened emotion drawn from past experience.

What is My Vision for 21st Century Schools?

Jo Said...

I see a school where learning is centered around the interests of the students, the teacher acts as a facilitator of learning and helps to guide students on their learning path. I want students to be able to connect with their peers at their own school and other schools in order to solve real world problems. I envision a classroom where no student is held back from learning because of disabilities or learning differences. In my vision, students have technology at their fingertips as a learning tool and a tool to connect to others. The classroom is not restricted by the space or location of the school. Students can explore their interests regardless of any disadvantages.