What will it be like? Here is what Microsoft says:
Learning 2020 – Innovative, Creative, Collaborative Workforce
Let’s imagine where technology will be in 20 years to help us set a vision for taking advantage of this new power for education. Such an exercise will allow us to visualize a roadmap for getting there.
It Begins at Birth – Intelligent Toys
In 2020, toys begin capturing children’s learning experiences by using embedded technology that records information about the child’s habits, preferences and progress to provide parents with a better understanding of their child’s development.
Kindergarten 2020 Scenario
Alizka wakes up this morning excited about what the day will bring. Today, she gets to meet with her discovery group. This group of students has been pre-selected through learning traits collected by toys that she used prior to entering kindergarten and shared with the school upon enrollment. The group has similar interests and meets 3 days a week. Today, they are going on a virtual safari to Africa.
Alizka likes animals a great deal and the group is going to experience how elephant families are similar to her own. Upon entering the virtual safari, she immediately experiences the size and weight of the elephants as they are presented in a 3-D environment where she feels as if she could reach out and touch them. During the safari,
the virtual mentor points out how elephants are similar to our families and how important the mother is to the survival of the babies. Alizka gets to name one of the baby elephants and she and her teacher send a message to her mom telling her of Alizka’s new friend.
During the day, Alizka demonstrated two acts of kindness towards another student. She received a personalized award at the end of the day. A copy of the award was immediately forwarded to her parents. Her dad, while traveling, received notice on his cell phone that Alizka was recognized in school and calls up a video interface to share his excitement with her. When Alizka arrives home she finds balloons waiting complete with her mother’s outstretched arms.
High School 2020 Scenario
Eddy’s day starts when his Internet earring goes off at 6:30 with his favorite music playing. He wakes up, and sees his schedule for the day on his wall screen. He notices that he has early lunch today so he makes sure to bring a snack along with him. After getting ready, Eddy returns to grab his learning tablet and notices that he has received a bus alert with an exact GPS location. His bus is running 15 minutes late so he has some extra time to get ready. He tells his virtual mentor to identify his daily learning packet that he has received from school which contains all of his work projects, meetings and notes for the day. They are read to Eddy via voice in his earring.
Eddy has team deliverables due to be presented in his first class period. He will review the presentation with his team through his two way video tablet on the way to school. He compares his schedule to his teacher’s schedule and picks a time he can log in for the remote meeting for a 1 on 1. His calendar is automatically updated with the new appointment and a message is sent to all the team members, including the teacher.
Eddy’s virtual mentor checks the bus online and announces to Eddy that it is just turning down his street. He gathers his tablet and his gym bag and heads out the door.
Upon entering the bus, Eddy’s clothes scan his student number and the school is immediately notified that he has made the bus and will be conferencing in en route. Eddy arrives to school 15 minutes late, but has been in constant communication with his team going over last minute details for the presentation and they’re good to go. His music comes up and he listens to his favorite song as he walks across campus. He arrives and
joins the project team who are reviewing details about the Persian Gulf War that are relevant to Eddy’s school mates in Egypt on this project. Eddy reviews a vision of the history of the discussion and watches as personalized information puts the discussion into context for him. A set of questions are automatically configured for him to review and a green light goes on indicating it’s his turn to engage.
An alert appears on his tablet right before the end of the period, reminding him that he is to meet his science team outside today. Today in science, Eddy is completing his personalized learning project. This project was designed especially for Eddy’s learning style and allows him to use an observation-based instructional process. While outside, Eddy works on the effects of light on plants, using his virtual biosphere to experiment. He collects real-time data from various laboratories throughout the world, helping him
manage his unique ecosystem.
He begins a dialogue with plant specialists whom he encountered over the Internet. The software recognizes that Eddy struggles with some terminology as his interaction rate seems too low. His questions don’t seem to map directly to the content. His virtual mentor immediately provides support resources and appears on his screen ready to show and tell. The virtual mentor asks Eddy some questions and explains some of the concepts
that he is having trouble with. After finishing the tutoring session, Eddy submits his project for team review again and receives an A, the standard grade of all high school students.
Eddy heads to the cafeteria where he picks up his pre-ordered lunch and debits his student account. After lunch, Eddy has 3 more projects to check in on and then a free period. During his free period, Eddy has signed up to learn Chinese from a school in Beijing. Eddy signs in to the course and begins talking to his classmates via embedded cameras and a virtual interface for picking objects up. Students walk through the video/virtual city talking and discussing the environment around them. When Eddy doesn’t pronounce his words right, a voice monitor appears and shows Eddy the right lip and tongue movements. He repeats and one of his virtual classmates tells him “most excellent”.
After school is over, Eddy has basketball practice. Eddy’s basketball is hooked to sensors that monitor the pressure on the ball, his trajectory and his travel speed before he makes a shot. During his bench time, his video glasses show him professionals making shots and highlights past games that he has played that he reviews during his next warm up. Eddy receives an alert that his mother has to work late today and that she’s arranged for Eddy to go home with another mom, whose virtual mentor leaves Eddy a message, a picture of the car, and a time she’ll meet him at a GPS designated location. Eddy arrives home after practice and calls his girlfriend. His snack is awaiting him in the refrigerator, calories, carbs and protein all listed in his personal health indicator. Eddy spends the rest of his event going over movie reviews with his girlfriend for their weekend date.
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