Wednesday, May 2, 2012

What Does our Future Hold?

"The jobs our students will have upon graduation don't exist yet."
I feel like I say that all the time, but it's true.  My current position actually didn't exist five years ago.  But today, that statement became pronounced when one of our eTEC teachers, Mr. Brownfield, showed me this video.

I've known of the original video by Corning, A Day Made of Glass, but this one specifically portrayed education in the future.  It reminded me of a trip my family took to Epcot Center when I was in fifth grade.  There, I saw a prediction. In the future, we would talk on large video screens to communicate with others instead of talking on the phone.  Sound familiar? To me it does. I Skyped into a meeting two weeks ago in lieu of driving thirty miles.  I FaceTime with family so I can see them instead of texting them.  I guess the prediction was accurate...

So it makes me think, if this is simply an example of what education could be in the future, how accurate is it? Kids already have access to interactive touch screens, so is the technology that far off? Probably not.  Considering this, then, what changes might we need to make in the instruction we're providing to this future generation?