Education gradually moves away from tradition and dependence on the state. Students use supporting online tools (such as an essay writing service https://pro-papers.com/). There is a rapid development of eLearning. Progressive private institutions emerge and work on effective teaching methods. Organizations seemingly far from this topic reflect on the improvement of the educational process.
Technology companies will determine the future of education
A very interesting trend may be observed today: a creative environment and a cluster of high technologies predetermine a close future of education. For example, Corning Incorporated is an American company with a long history, included in the list of 500 largest industrial enterprises in the world. It specializes in the development of new generation displays, environmental technologies, telecommunications.
Specialists of the organization believe that “smart” photovoltaic glass will soon significantly change the way of life of our civilization. A variety of working and informational surfaces for devices, furniture, and urban facilities will be created from it. Such surfaces will be extremely durable, thin, flexible, all-weather, multifunctional and highly sensitive.
Let’s pay attention to the new learning opportunities that will appear along with the wide distribution of displays from a photovoltaic glass.
- Energy-autonomous schools with solar panels on the roofs and interactive displays in the corridors. On them, children will be able to see the level of natural illumination and its correlation with the level of charge of batteries that feed the entire building with energy. What for? To create links between reality and science, to shape a scientific perception.
- No more textbooks. The main educational tool will be a transparent tablet, from which it will be possible to send information to another device. What does it mean? One movement will be enough to “write down” a home assignment, to connect to any “open” device and hand out the classroom teaching materials. Students will install tablets on the stands on their desks. The display will show an image synchronized with a smart board.
- No more exercise books. Even laptops will become irrelevant. Technology will allow projecting a keyboard and a desktop to a surface of a desk. Among other things, it will give a tremendous ecological effect. Imagine how many trees will be preserved if paper notebooks, diaries, textbooks will be almost unnecessary for children in many countries.
- No more drawing with chalk on a board. The interactive board will have a 3D-mode. It will be possible to show beautiful figures and manage them in real time. From a teacher, such educational realities will require, first of all, enthusiasm, constant updating of knowledge and materials of a lesson/lecture. It will be impossible to read the same material from yellowed sheets for many years. And it will be especially interesting for a teacher to develop professionally.
- This does not mean that education will become passive. On the contrary, there may be educational portals of virtual reality in ordinary city parks. The spread of new technologies in schools and universities will open up such opportunities as hyper-realistic lessons and lectures. For example, a teacher will be able to arrange a travel to the era of dinosaurs – 65 million years ago. Children will walk alone or in pairs along the territory of an educational park and feel as they are pathfinders. Here a game and motivation are combined here. If a trail of an animal is caught, a student can point a transparent tablet on it and see that, for example, a deer has been here, and at the same time, to gain knowledge of natural history.
A teacher will not only retain his role but will move to a new stage of evolution, become a “rock star”
The profession of a teacher will seriously evolve soon. Classical images, methods, approaches and a manner of communication with a student lose relevance. Technological progress and the need for informal multidisciplinary education will force pedagogues to constantly update their knowledge, master a spectrum of devices, online services and technologies, and also to develop a special manner of communication.
A “formal, detached and sublime” approach repels students and becomes an obstacle to effective learning. The format of advanced mentoring is more appropriate to the needs of modern children. It is characterized by encyclopedic knowledge, a deep understanding of the psychology of communication and education, a high level of technology mastering, a good sense of humor, the ability to guide children on the path to independent training, thinking and lifestyle in modern cultural context.
High-tech education will soon turn from an experiment to the universal approach
The day is near when the schools and universities, as we know them now, will cease to exist. Instead, we will have highly digitalized community centers working 24/7. Distance learning will not replace the full-time form, but it will become an educational standard – students will be able to study at a convenient time and make long-term cognitive journeys. Periodic visits to educational centers will remain mandatory – for the formation, consolidation, and development of social skills.
Do not think that a transition to a progressive school will begin in the far future. It began a long time ago. Now, there are only separate precedents, experimental educational institutions, and classes, but their experience confirms that new ideas and models of training really work.
For example, in Australia, already in 1998, there was an experimental Seashore Primary School. Technologies became a “glue” for lessons: all teachers and students used laptops. Pedagogues listened to voice messages and answered calls using a special telephone system. Pupils used phones to find information and communicate with experts.
All lessons were multidisciplinary at that time yet. By the way, this principle is consistent with the educational super-trend for a high-tech holistic (that is, integral) education, which becomes increasingly obvious. The teachers made up an individual plan for each student in the experimental Seashore Primary School. The laptop was a library, a tool for doing homework, a data warehouse and a means of communication.
Nowadays, only technological realities have changed – we move from phones and laptops to smartphones, tablets, and school LMS (Learning Management System). That is, the very basic principles of “next generation education” are confirmed by many years of testing around the world.
