2020 Vision: Do we know whatschools and the educational process will look like when we get there? I am currently a mid-career teacher / educator and I plan on still being part of the process in 2020, therefore I need to make sure that I build a skill set that will allow me to be an effective teacher when I near the end of my career. Remember: "There is a big difference between teaching thirty years and teaching one year thirty times."Karl Fisch on his blog, The Fisch Bowl, has posted a video that he created in the 'EPIC 2014' or 'Googlezon' genre about how the educational process may change over the next 13 years. Most of the preditions he makes are related to Google and their role in education and society. I can personally tell you that 2007 will be the year that Google injects themselves into the educational process. Karl makes the point that next years Kindergarteners will be the class of 2020 and the link to the idea of a 'clarity of vision.' I watched the video one time and immediately had to post a comment on Karl's blog, but I also posted a link to the video on the Google Teacher's Group page and sent a link to all of the teachers at our school. I actually walked in on my principal watching the video in his office.
I thought that some of the items that Karl discussed were out there a little, but that is what you do when you make a video like this, you create a little controversy to spur on the discussion. I think that it helps the process move forward.
Highlights:
2007: Arapahoe Public Schools start the BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop) program for students. I know this would make most Technology Directors call out the National Guard and sound every alarm from here to Bangalore, but I think it is important and much easier to implement and secure than most would imagine. Not to 'overgeek' anyone, but it is a fairly easy task to segment the school network in such a way that traffic on student laptops would not use the same data pathway that critical school services would travel on.
2008: Arapahoe Public Schools negotiate a contract for wired and wireless network services with Comcast. The network uses the new WiMax technology, which allows Internet access to be virtually 'ubuquitous' within the surrounding area. Approximately 600 students take advantage of the BYOL program. Amazon purchases e-Bay and renames the company 'A-bay,' the price for all items is now negotiable.
2009: 10 Arapahoe teachers begin podcasting all of their classes. 1,100 students are participating in the BYOL program.
- Google buys Associated Press and Disney/ABC - Also buys the rights to lectures at Stanford, MIT and Harvard.
- Yahoo buys Reuters, NBC and Universal - Also buys the rights to lectures at Princeton, Michigan and CalTech.
2010: Google introduces the GCam and the GCast service to allow teachers to broadcast all of their lectures to the Internet. All of the lectures are archived and available via podcast to students 24/7/365. The lectures were also integrated into a Course Management System, like Moodle. Arapahoe installed 10 GCams to start the school year, the units were such a success they installed units in the rest of the classrooms during the winter break.
2011: Warrior Portal launched. Allowed teachers and students to access all of their information from one place. The school district announced that starting in 2013, they would do away with letter grades in favor of a portfolio based authentic assessment system. Arapahoe schools had 10 sister school relationships with schools from around the world.
- Microsoft buys Yahoo and Dell
- Google buys five small companies dealing with quantum computing, solar energy and battery technologies.
2012: The Arapahoe Public Schools merge with the community college system to create a consolidated educational entity. Students can enter anytime between the seventh and tenth grades and upon graduation would have two years of college credit transferrable to any Colorado State College or University. The program was initially stopped by the Colorado State Department of Education, but was reinstated after a group of parents successfully sued the state in the State Supreme Court.
2013: Google buys controlling interests in Ford, Apple and AMD. Google stock prices drop 25% when the Google Board will not reveal future plans. There is a movement to recall the Google Board, but they retain their seats by a slight majority.
2014: On December 1, based on the time table set forth by the stock holders a year earlier, Google announces several new products.
- Google Panels: Solar panels that quadrupled the output of current panels at 1/3rd the cost. All Google data centers would be powered by Google Panels. Would create 20 Billion in revenue in three years. Creating the Google Grid and providing power to underdeveloped countries.
- GCars: Electric car that is a joint venture between Google and Ford, using a battery technology that extends the distance between charges to 1,2oo miles. Consumers with Google Panels on their homes create enough energy to power their homes and cars. The cars were also equipped with wireless capability, which created a wireless mesh network in almost every metropolitan area.
- Google creates a new quantum computing chip that runs at the speed of chips produced 2 years previously at 5% of the power cost. Laptops built using the chips could be completely powered by solar panels installed on the backs of the units.
2015: Apple and Google annouce the 'iMAGINE' computer, using the new quantum computing chips. The operating system and applications were all 'open source' and the only cost for the computer was $20 to cover shipping and handling and a $40 annual subscription to 'Google Premium.' Content from all of the major universities and early-bird access to 'A-baY' merchandise.
2016: Microsoft, after seeing the explosion in content in Google Premium, approaches Google to form a partnership. Google agrees to the Microsoft partnership. Intel sues Google for unfair business practices, the case is fast-tracked to the US Supreme Court, which rules infavor of Google.
2017: Google U: Offering content between 9th grade and Master’s Degree. There would be no tuition because ad revenue would cover those costs. Google accepted applications from schools and universities to become
2018: President Obama announced that the US was no longer importing any foreign oil and had a 500 Billion dollar surplus. This is the first year where carbon emmissions were lower than the previous year.
2019: Google and Apple announce the 'eyeMAGINE,' a computer that uses a display that projects the image onto the users retina. This eliminated the need for an external monitor, The unit was the size of a 'deck of cards' and connected wirelessly to the Internet. The unit can be controlled by voice by the ‘iThumb,’ a device that was the size of cellphones of the mid-2000’s.
A Global Learning Network was created and eliminated the need for a physical school, but students did come together for social, intellectual and athletic endeavors.
2020: The Global Learning Community is established and despite the claims of many that the use of technology in school would isolate people, it has actually brought people closer than ever before.
I would invite you to take a look at the entire video, which is now posted on Google Video here.
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