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When kids can get their lessons from the Internet, what's left for classroom instructors to do?

Whenever a college student asks me, a veteran high-school English educator, about the prospects of becoming a public-school teacher, I never think it's enough to say that the role is shifting from "content expert" to "curriculum facilitator." Instead, I describe what I think the public-school classroom will look like in 20 years, with a large, fantastic computer screen at the front, streaming one of the nation's most engaging, informative lessons available on a particular topic. The "virtual class" will be introduced, guided, and curated by one of the country's best teachers (a.k.a. a "super-teacher"), and it will include professionally produced footage of current events, relevant excerpts from powerful TedTalks, interactive games students can play against other students nationwide, and a formal assessment that the computer will immediately score and record.

I tell this college student that in each classroom, there will be a local teacher-facilitator (called a "tech") to make sure that the equipment works and the students behave. Since the "tech" won't require the extensive education and training of today's teachers, the teacher's union will fall apart, and that "tech" will earn about $15 an hour to facilitate a class of what could include over 50 students. This new progressive system will be justified and supported by the American public for several reasons: Each lesson will be among the most interesting and efficient lessons in the world; millions of dollars will be saved in reduced teacher salaries; the "techs" can specialize in classroom management; performance data will be standardized and immediately produced (and therefore "individualized"); and the country will finally achieve equity in its public school system.

"So if you want to be a teacher," I tell the college student, "you better be a super-teacher."
"We're at the point where the Internet pretty much supplies everything we need. We don't really need teachers in the same way anymore."
I used to think I was kidding, or at least exaggerating. Now I'm not so sure. When I consulted a local career counselor who is on the brink of retirement after a lifetime in the public schools, he said I was wrong about my prediction-but only about it taking 20 years. "Try five or 10," he said.

I smiled and laughed, and then suddenly stopped. I thought about how many times I had heard the phrase "teacher as facilitator" over the past year. I recalled a veteran teacher who recently said with anguish, "we used to be appreciated as experts in our field." I thought about the last time I walked into a local bookstore, when the employee asked if she could order a book for me from Amazon. Are teachers going the way of local bookstores? Suddenly I felt like the frog in the pot of water, feeling a little warm, wondering if I was going to have to jump before I retire in 20 years. Try five or 10.

I started reflecting. A decade and a half ago, I dedicated two years toward earning a master's degree in English literature; this training included a couple of pedagogy courses, and it focused on classic literature, the nature of reading and writing, and the best ways to teach it. A decade ago, my school sent me to an Advanced Placement English conference at which I studied literary analysis for three days. As with the graduate program, I don't remember the conference involving technology-it was simply the teacher, students, and a lot of books. Now, I don't remember the last time I've attended, or even heard of, any professional-development training focused on my specific subject matter. Instead, these experiences concentrate on incorporating technology in the classroom, utilizing assessment data, or new ways of becoming a school facilitator.

When I did some research to see if it was just me sensing this transformation taking place, I was overwhelmed by the number of articles all confirming what I had suspected: The relatively recent emergence of the Internet, and the ever-increasing ease of access to web, has unmistakably usurped the teacher from the former role as dictator of subject content. These days, teachers are expected to concentrate on the "facilitation" of factual knowledge that is suddenly widely accessible.

In 2012, for example, MindShift's Aran Levasseur wrote that "all computing devices-from laptops to tablets to smartphones-are dismantling knowledge silos and are therefore transforming the role of a teacher into something that is more of a facilitator and coach." Joshua Starr, a nationally prominent superintendent, recently told NPR, "I ask teachers all the time, if you can Google it, why teach it?" And it's already become a cliche that the teacher should transfer from being a "sage on the stage" to being "a guide on the side."

I started looking around me. Teachers like me are uploading onto the web tens of thousands of lesson plans and videos that are then being consolidated and curated by various organizations. In other words, the intellectual property that once belonged to teachers is now openly available on the Internet.

And the teachers unions don't seem to be stopping this crowdsourcing; in fact, the American Federation of Teachers created sharemylesson.com ("By teachers, for teachers"), which says it offers more than 300,000 free resources for educators. And even though its partner, TES Connect, often charges money for its materials, the private company claims that nearly 5 million resources are downloaded from its sites weekly. Meanwhile, TeachersPayTeachers.com, an open marketplace for lesson plans and resources that launched in 2006, says it has more than 3 million users, including 1 million who signed up in the past year. Close to 1 million educators have purchased lesson plans from the site, while several other teachers are earning six figures for creating the site's top-selling materials.
The relatively recent emergence of the Internet, and the ever-increasing ease of access to web, has unmistakably usurped the teacher from the former role as dictator of subject content.
I think it used to be taboo for teachers to borrow or buy plans written by other professionals, but it seems that times are changing. Just last week, I spoke with a history teacher from Santa Maria, California, who bluntly said, "I don't ever write my own lesson plans anymore. I just give credit to the person who did." He explained, rather reasonably, that the materials are usually inexpensive or free; are extremely well made; and often include worksheets, videos, assessments, and links to other resources. Just as his administrators request, he can focus on being a facilitator, specializing in individualized instruction.

I've started recognizing a common thread to the latest trends in teaching. Flipped learning, blending learning, student-centered learning, project-based learning, and even self-organized learning-they all marginalize the teacher's expertise. Or, to put it more euphemistically, they all transform the teacher into a more facilitative role.

In "flipped learning," the student is expected to absorb the core knowledge at home by watching videos and then engage in projects, problem-solving, and critical-thinking activities at school, as facilitated by his or her teacher. Project Tomorrow's nationwide 2013 survey found that 41 percent of administrators say "pre-service teachers should learn how to set up a flipped class model before getting a teaching credential," while 66 percent of principals say "pre-service teachers should learn to create and use video and other digital media." And once again, when the teacher relies on digital media to provide the core knowledge, his or her role will inherently shift to that of a facilitator. The University of Washington's Center for Teaching and Learning, for example, explicitly describes "flipped learning" as a way for students to "gain control of the learning process" while "the instructors become facilitators ... the instructor is there to coach and guide them."

Likewise, "blended learning"-in which students take at least part of a class online while supervised by adults-is now offered by about 70 percent of K-12 public-school districts. According the Clayton Christensen Institute -a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that touts "disruptive innovation"-the number of K-12 students who took an online course increased from roughly 45,000 in 2000, to more than 3 million in 2009. The institute also projects that half of all high-school classes will be delivered online by 2019.

I asked a longtime friend of mine-a high-school principal in northern California-to tell me candidly what he thought about blended learning. He said, "we're at the point where the Internet pretty much supplies everything we need. We don't really need teachers in the same way anymore. I mean, sure, my daughter gets some help from her teachers, but basically everything she learns-from math to band-she can get from her computer better than her teachers."

At a seminar about project-based learning, I told the presenter with an increasing sense of desperation, "You know, some of us English teachers still believe that teaching literature is still our primary job." He smirked and put his pointer finger near his thumb and said, "A very little part of your job." And I recently watched the TedTalk that won the $1 million prize at Ted2013, the one in which Sugata Mitra stated that "schools as we know them are obsolete" because the country no longer needs teachers. Here's how he envisions the classroom:

In the original idea of the "flipped classroom," it seems that the teacher was responsible for recording the lecture and posting the video online, but it's now becoming more efficient to link to a professional video. And there are now thousands of videos from which to choose. The Kahn Academy-a nonprofit that claims to provide "a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere"-features more than 6,500 free videos and advertises over 100,000 interactive lessons on various subjects. According to Forbes, more than 500,000 teachers worldwide use these videos, which also have over 500 million views on YouTube. Meanwhile, YouTube's own education channel ("Where anyone, anywhere can learn or teach anything") has 1 million-plus subscribers. And about 2,000 TED talks are available to view for free online and have been seen more than 1 billion times total. The list goes on.

I recently spoke with Monica Brady-Myerov, the CEO and founder of Listen Current, a website that curates the best of public radio, including current events, and offers the three- to five-minute clips alongside a full set of lesson plans and worksheets. When I asked her about the recent boom in lesson-plan production, she said, "It's like the wild west right now, both in terms of online resources and educational technology. It's why I quit my job [as a veteran award-winning public radio journalist], so I could ride out west." Here's what Listen Current looks like:

I found brief solace in the idea that I could still be the professional teacher that compiles all these resources-and then I found Edmodo. Branding itself as the "Facebook for schools," Edmodo started in just 2008 and now has more than 48 million members. I signed up just to see what it was all about. Within five minutes, I found a great lesson on Romeo and Juliet by John Green (a favorite author among teens, and on the list of Time's "100 most influential people"), a Kahn Academy video, immediate access to 100 famous speeches, and a somewhat fun interactive game based on Lord of the Flies. According to EdSurge, the Edmodo CEO earlier this month said, "We want to do for teacher resources what Netflix does for movies."

Well then. At least I can organize the video lessons and put them together in a sensible order-except that Activate Instruction is already creating a free and open online tool that is "similar to Wikipedia" and will "help put resources and curriculum in one place that any teacher can use." The company even put these materials in logical "playlists"; the first one I looked at contained 11 different professional resources for teaching a specific skill, including printable worksheets, an engaging video, an essay prompt, and a final assessment. And again, this company is just getting started-Activate Instruction was announced in 2013:

I measured myself against these websites and Internet companies. It seems clear that they already have a distinct advantage over me as an individual teacher. They have more resources, more money, an entire staff of professionals, and they get to concentrate on producing their specialized content, while the teacher is-almost by default-inherently encouraged to transform into a facilitator. Some people might cringe at a "Netflix for teachers," but it's almost impossible to deny the inherent advantages Netflix has over a local DVD store, and it's easy to imagine the potential improvements that could happen to these modern services.

For how many more years can I compete? A dozen years ago, I proudly worked for about 20 hours to create a lesson plan that taught poetic meter through the analysis of a rap song (I remember continually rewinding the cassette in my walkman). Last week, the first lesson I saw on sharemylesson.com was a thoroughly analyzed song by Katy Perry, with a printable worksheet that featured at least 10 literary devices, along with a link to her video. ListenCurrent.com gives me immediate access to public-radio clips that took me hours to accumulate just a few months ago. I may not use Edmodo or anything like it this year, but I also didn't use Facebook in its first few years-or Amazon, or cell phones, or even ATM machines. Isn't it probable that this educational technology is going to be overwhelmingly awesome in 20 years? I hear the career counselor's voice: "Try five or 10."

I think to myself: These resources are already good for education, and they're only getting better. Part of me is really excited that in two decades, the giant interactive classroom computer screen that I foresaw is going to be far more sophisticated than I can possibly imagine. Why should I stand in the way of crowdsourced lesson plans and professionally edited video tutorials? Shouldn't I stop trying to compete as an individual "sage on the stage," appreciate the modern efficiency of today's resources, and re-invest my time as their enthusiastic "guide on the side"?

When I told the school's golf coach about flipped learning, I explained that it would be as if he asked the kids to go home and watch YouTube videos that teach proper mechanics and then practice those skills under his supervision on the course. He laughed and answered, "Oh, we should absolutely do that. Hank Haney's video's are way better than anything I can show them."

And if I can compete with Hank Haney, shouldn't I be Hank Haney? In other words, if I think my lesson plans or video tutorials rival some of the best on the Internet (for now), shouldn't I be trying to make six figures on the open marketplace at teacherspayteachers.com or as a curriculum designer for a private company? The dilemma intensifies when I suspect that un-credentialed "techs" might bust the teacher unions in 20 years ("try five or 10").

I looked through the current trends for some sign that the future classroom I envisioned won't be realized within 20 years. I read Terrance Ross's analysis of the Bridge International Academies and how their "scripted instruction," combined with technology and statistical feedback, has efficiently earned revenue while improving education in Kenya. Fast Company put the company on the list of "The World's Top 10 Innovative Companies in Education," citing the fact that it's already serving over 110,000 students, is significantly outperforming neighboring schools in both reading and math, and plans on educating 10 million students by 2025.

In a similar vein, live-streaming and other technology are also allowing some modern churches to move toward a "multisite" format, one in which a single pastor can broadcast his sermons to satellite churches guided by pastors who-this might sound familiar-concentrate on the facilitation of a common itinerary. Ed Stetzer recently wrote on ChristianityToday.com that "multisite is the new normal," and later explained, "it's easier to create another extension site than it is to create another faithful pastor who is a great communicator ... it's easier to start a campus and beam my sermons to other locales than it is to raise up leaders and laypeople."

And as I mentioned earlier, last night I watched Sugata Mitra earn a standing ovation, $1 million, and a partnership with Microsoft for his TedTalk that declared that the "future of learning" is a "school built in the cloud"-one that doesn't require teachers. It seems fitting that I watched the speech from my laptop, and that Mitra is a former computer-science teacher. Last November, Newcastle University opened the first "global hub" based on Mitra's research, which suggests that children in self-organized learning environments "can learn almost anything by themselves" (and a computer).

This morning I spoke with a well-respected high-school teacher who supervises a blended course in digital photography. The course is mostly taught online, but students meet once every two weeks in the classroom. "So in five years, if a student has five teachers using this blended-learning style, they can just stay home the entire semester?" I asked. Apparently they could. And that, it seems, is homeschooling-with the high school's resources.

I wonder why larger discussions related to these trends aren't happening with greater urgency, if they're happening at all. How hot does the water have to get before the best teachers start jumping for jobs in the private sector? As local communities and school districts nationwide commit to blended-learning programs, are they considering the long-term ramifications to the nature of their classrooms? Does the American Federation of Teachers know that, as its teachers upload their lesson plans into the cloud, they might be helping build an entirely different school, ones with self-organized learning environments instead of teachers?

I don't have many answers in this brave new world, but I feel like I can draw one firm line. There is a profound difference between a local expert teacher using the Internet and all its resources to supplement and improve his or her lessons, and a teacher facilitating the educational plans of massive organizations. Why isn't this line being publicly and sharply delineated, or even generally discussed? This line should be rigorously guarded by those who want to keep education professionals in the center of each classroom. Those calling for teachers to "transform their roles," regardless of motive or intentionality, are quietly erasing this line-effectively deconstructing the role of the teacher as it's always been known.

Meanwhile, back on my campus, I wonder about the advice I should give a new teacher. Should I encourage this aspiring educator to fight for his or her role as the local expert, or simply get good at facilitating the best lessons available? Should I assure this person about my union and the notion of tenure, or should I urgently encourage him or her to create a back-up plan?

And when I think back to the original discussion, I wonder what I'm supposed to tell the college graduates who ask about earning a teaching credential. Because while I used to think I was scaring the youngster with my 20-year predictions, now I'm afraid I'm giving them false hope.

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When the Internet Delivers Its Own Content, What's Left for the Teacher?

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When kids can get their lessons from the Internet, what's left for classroom instructors to do?

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I am book

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Have you noticed more discussion recently about Artificial Intelligence or AI? When first hearing "Artificial Intelligence" is there an image that pops into your mind? Is it something that you can easily define? Perhaps your understanding/reference point is something you've seen in the movies. For myself, being an 80s child, my initial frame of reference is Star Wars, I immediately think of R2D2 or C3PO. My mind then wanders to thoughts of "I, Robot" starring Will Smith, in which the robots developed the capacity to think like humans, to feel and to take action on their own. And more currently, I think of the Alexa, Echo, Siri and others that have gained popularity, even more so recently. But what is the true meaning of AI and how do we see it in daily life?

The concept of "Artificial intelligence" can be hard to understand/grasp, especially when trying to think about how it can be applied to education as well as many other sectors of society. In December 2015, the Getting Smart # AskAboutAI research began and over these two years, they have identified over 100 applications of AI to life in areas such as recreation, transportation, education, healthcare and gaming to name just a few. The campaign focused on AI in regard to three objectives: employment, ethics and education. How can AI be beneficial for different industries, what are some of the uses, what are the benefits and risks associated with it, and of greater personal interest, what are the possibilities for AI in education.

According to Getting Smart's "Ask About AI" report, the notion behind AI is that machines can exhibit human intelligence. The concept of "machine learning" started in 1956 and is when algorithms are used to interpret data and take some action or to complete a task. As a foreign language teacher, I became aware of machine learning years ago, in the form of language translators. AI, at its base, is computer code that displays some form of intelligence, learning, and problem solving in what has been referred to as a "super intelligence." It is the development of computers that can complete tasks which normally require "human intelligence" however it learns on its own and continues to improve on past iterations. AI becomes smarter, knowledge grows, and it expands the realm of possibilities for society. Machine learning is actually a subset of artificial intelligence. It is said that all Machine Learning is AI, but not all AI is Machine Learning.

Everyday uses of Machine Learning and AI that you may not be aware of.

In my quest to learn more about AI and its implications for the future of learning, I needed to first understand how we were already using AI and perhaps, not even realizing it. I asked colleagues for their thoughts on AI and many were as unsure as I about how it is being used currently. Here are 5 common uses:

1. Communication: Spam filters, powered by AI, streamline the amount of spam appearing in your inbox. As email senders (real or automated) become more careful with selecting words which have not been flagged previously, the filters need to adapt and continue to learn based on words that the user also flags. There is an added component of ML in this, in that through the algorithms already in place by the email provider, additional filters are then created. Google takes it even further by continuously learning the types of email messages which are marked as "important".

2. Travel: If you have taken a ride using Uber or Lyft, you have experienced ML (Machine Learning), which is used to predict rider demand and to calculate ETA( Estimated Time of Arrival). The airline industry uses AI, since autopilot qualifies as AI, where it is estimated that "human steered" flight time is only seven minutes of actual flight length.

3. Social networking: When we use Facebook to share photos, the artificial intelligence is able to detect faces in the image and suggest a name to tag the person. Facebook has continued to add new features as part of its AI Initiative, to generate a more personalized and interactive user experience. Some social media sites, such as Twitter, generate lists of accounts to follow, chats to join, and news feeds of interest based on an analysis of user input and data. Even Google with its "cards" can provide a variety of personal recommendations based on your search history.

4. Online Shopping: One that comes to mind quickly is Amazon, and how it suggests items you may be interested in, as a result of your prior searches and order history. Systems are in place to protect consumers against fraud, with alerts being sent almost simultaneously to an attempted transaction that is not recognized as a "typical" purchase or located in a non-home base location. All of this done through AI, which is used for identifying fraudulent transactions.

5. Education: Teachers and students have a wide range of tools available, ranging from Google Searches, in which alternate search terms are instantly suggested, citation generators, plagiarism checkers, and even Siri has become a popular tool for searches. An astounding amount of information generated instantly, far more advanced from thirty years ago and society's reliance on card catalogs, calculators and books.

But what does AI mean for today's classrooms?

Looking at these common uses in everyday life makes it easier to think about some ways that Artificial Intelligence can transform classrooms. Where will we see the biggest benefits? I think that it is important to take a look at your own classroom and consider: What are some of the tasks that are typically done? How are you and the students spending your class time? What are some ways that you could get some of that time back by using AI? Time to dream big!

Thinking about my own classroom, some of the most time-consuming tasks are conferencing and finding time to work with each student, creating and reviewing assessments, locating appropriate supplemental activities to differentiate for students, offering more engaging and immersive learning experiences. AI can address each of these areas, increasing the time available to spend doing more interactive lessons, having students lead, having more time to focus on relationships in the classroom and truly providing students with a world full of opportunities, personalized to their needs and instantly available.

So how can AI help?

1. Communication: Students and teachers will be able to communicate instantly with one another as well as to connect with other forms of AI around the world. Students instantly paired with peers, helping each student to expand their own personal learning networks, with personalized and more authentic connections that will meet the students' interests and needs at any given moment. Think of the benefits for being able to converse with AI or a virtual peer, which has been located based on an assessment of student needs and error analyses. Build foreign language skills, talk to someone about school, family, life in a country being studied, possibilities are endless for language learning.

2. Differentiation: With the availability of AI, students and teachers will be able to connect with resources they need exactly when they need them. The entire internet of resources accessible within seconds, deliverable to each student saving valuable time for more interaction between teacher and student, and students and students. Through AI, students can have access to one to one tutors, creating more authentic learning experiences by pairing students with an expert or a virtual peer to learn with. Think of the benefits if each student could have instant access to a tutor wherever and whenever they needed one.

3. Personalization: What better way to offer more personalized learning opportunities for students than to have AI be able to analyze student responses, determine areas of need and interest, and find resources or create new questions to help students to greater understanding of the content. What about the potential for informing the classroom teacher, and working together to create new learning opportunities for students, but in a faster way, that relates directly to the student needs and offers authentic and timely feedback.

4. Exploration: With the rise of augmented and virtual reality, and the benefits of bringing these into the classroom for students to have a more immersive learning experience and to see places and explore things that otherwise they would not, AI can be a tremendous benefit for this. Through AI, resources could be found instantly based on student responses, or for the entire classroom to experience. Capabilities such as these are not something that will be limited by the time and place of the classroom setting. AI could show students want they want to explore, find ways to bring the content to life instantly.

5. Assessments: AI could help teachers to assess students and streamline the grading process, with the added benefit of being able to quickly take the data, provide an analysis for teachers, so that time can be saved for more classroom interactions. It can help with student achievement, making sure that each student has the opportunity to learn and grow, benefitting from the faster responses through AI.

Considerations for the future.

Even though there has been concern expressed for what AI could mean for education: would AI lead to the replacement of teachers? Would the use of AI in the classroom have any negative impacts on student learning? There could not be a replacement of teachers because AI cannot help students to build SEL skills and learn from human interactions, vital components of relationships in the classroom. So in the end, what could AI do? Here are 10 roles for AI that can be used in education.

AI can quickly interpret a student's needs and design an appropriate assessment. It can show students mastery, repeat lessons as needed and quickly design a personalized learning plan for each student. AI could provide teachers with a virtual teaching assistant, (something that was done in 2015 without students even knowing), which then frees time for the teacher to move around the room and facilitate learning. But more than just teachers and students, it can be a way to support parents by involving them in the learning environment of students and providing them with the information they need to help their students be successful when they're not in the classroom. The future likely holds a lot of possibilities for AI and teachers can take the opportunity to be informed of the possibilities and being open to discussions with students.

For more, see:
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Rachelle Dene Poth is a Foreign Language and STEAM Teacher at Riverview Junior/Senior High in Oakmont, PA. Follow her on Twitter at @rdene915

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Artificial Intelligence: Implications for the Future of Education

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Have you noticed more discussion recently about Artificial Intelligence or AI? When first hearing "Artificial Intelligence" is there an image that pops into your mind? Is it something that you can easily define? Perhaps your understanding/reference point is something you've seen in the movies.

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There are many factors influencing what schools may look like in 20 years: unprecedented global forces and unforeseen technologies and paradigm shifts in the ways students want to learn and teachers want to instruct. I predict that the future of education will require educators to be more entrepreneurial, collaborative, creative and innovative. Additionally, learners will be even more tech savvy, demanding, confident and focused as consumers of education.

It's important to think about what we can do to prepare for the future, so we can improve areas of need today. Here are a few areas schools should focus on evolving to create a bright future for education.

Personalization and Customization

Today's learners are digital natives. They are accustomed to getting information and meeting their needs with a click of a button in a user-friendly, personal and customizable way. Future educators will have to face the fact that students will need (and want) to learn in a flexible, personalized format - for some, this may mean having a more technology-focused classroom. Students will want their learning experience to meet their interests, time constraints and academic needs. Check out Education Week's recent article " What Is 'Personalized Learning'? Educators Seek Clarity."

Student Ownership

In addition to personalization, students want to have a greater voice in their education instead of simply listening to a lecture. Since higher levels of thinking and learning require more student ownership, education will become more project based - a pivotal theme moving forward. Schools will need to allow students to choose what they learn, how they learn and what projects they participate in. For more information, go to the Buck Institute for Education.

Improved Curricula

In addition to having more project-based instructional models, schools will need to examine their core curriculum. Contrary to the old-school traditions housed in English, math, social studies and science, we'll need to redesign curricula and courses to reflect the skills mandated by emerging economies and technologies. Skills such as coding, design, sustainability and financial literacy - to name a few - will have to be integrated and taught in classroom curricula.

Innovative Learning Spaces and Environments

Schools will need to rethink the classroom learning environment to better suit students' needs. The environment should be conducive to innovative and creative learning. An important question to ask is: Where do people go to get their creative juices flowing? For example, coffee shops are common spaces that groups go to meet up for creative projects or test prep.

I was fortunate to open a 21st century high school in 2008 called Minarets High School, where we created a Media Lounge rather than a library. There were still shelves filled with books, but the space also had wireless Internet, flat-screen TVs, coffee, food, community events, a sofa and soft chairs. Can classrooms be more flexible, social, comfortable and interactive in this way? For more ideas, check out David Thornburg's book From the Campfire to the Holodeck: Creating Engaging and Powerful 21st Century Learning Environments.

Interconnectivity

In 20 years, students will expect more of a mentoring relationship from their teachers, which is not the norm in schools today. Since more students will be learning and gathering information without attending school in person, future teachers will have to embrace various ways of staying connected and engaging with their students via social media, online communities, Google Hangouts, Twitter chats and more to stay connected with students.

Real-World Application Plus Project-Based Learning (PBL)

Schools will have to offer more ways for students to gain real-world experience that is applicable to their future careers. Schools should provide opportunities for students to intern at companies, mentor marginalized youth or collaborate in large groups, for example. Rather than limiting students inside a classroom, schools can create more opportunities for students to gain useful technical skills through real-world application.

Technology

Many schools now have one-to-one devices or are heading in that direction. Our future challenge relates to students using technology - if we look at technology as just a better tool to administer and grade tests, then we'll have missed the boat. Presently, cell phones and social media are still frowned upon in the classroom in some areas of the country. In 20 years, schools will have advanced technology in the classroom to complement teachers' lessons. For example, a science class may cover 3D printing and how it can be used to replicate prosthetic limbs to change someone's life.

The technology is here now, but will we have the culture and pedagogy that optimizes the true impact of student technology use? In 20 years, I say yes. Hopefully, our pedagogy changes sooner.

Further Examination

Learn more about how schools may evolve in the future at Edutopia.

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What Will Education Look Like in 20 Years?

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There are many factors influencing what schools may look like in 20 years: unprecedented global forces and unforeseen technologies and paradigm shifts in the ways students want to learn and teachers want to instruct. I predict that the future of education will require educators to be more entrepreneurial, collaborative, creative and innovative.

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What's the future of education? How will students learn differently? What will the schools of the future look like? We asked TED-Ed Innovative Educators to share their ideas. Their answers are provocative, contradictory - and make for great conversation starters. Welcome to the "Choose Your Own Adventure" future of learning.

There will be more creativity in education.
"Because that's what careers will require. Education will be not just taking in information and sharing it back, but also figuring out what to do with that information in the real world." -Josefino Rivera, Jr., educator in Buenos Aires, Argentina

The classroom will be one big makerspace.
"Technology like Evernote, Google, and Siri will be standard and will change what teachers value and test for. Basically, if you can ask Siri to answer a question, then you will not be evaluated on that. Instead, learning will be project based. Students will be evaluated on critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Literature and math will still be taught, but they will be taught differently. Math will be taught as a way of learning how to solve problems and puzzles. In literature, students will be asked what a story means to them. Instead of taking tests, students will show learning through creative projects. The role of teachers will be to guide students in the areas where they need guidance as innovators. How do you get kids to be innovative? You let them. You get out of their way." -Nicholas Provenzano, educator in Michigan, United States

"How do you get kids to be innovative? You let them. You get out of their way."

There will be no physical campus.
"Instead, students will learn in traveling classrooms, and the real world will be their campus. Students will live together and use city libraries and city laboratories to complete a project. Learning won't be limited to a physical school. There's already a model for this: Minerva Schools, a venture university." -Hyuk Jang, educator in Busan, South Korea

Students will learn that nothing is impossible.
"Education will instill the idea that anything that is not possible now will be possible in the future. Let's make that part of education." -Kristine Sargsyan, educator in Yerevan, Armenia

Education will look nothing like it does now.
"Schools will be multidisciplinary, with a focus on social justice. You have to change the world to change the classroom, and right now, the difference between the poor and rich districts is huge." -Eduardo Godoy, educator in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Will schools even exist in 2050?
"Is teaching a dying profession? If not, then the classroom will change a lot. I don't think schools will exist in the same format, with desks and chairs. Instead, learning will incorporate virtual reality and multiple perspectives. Students will learn how to negotiate issues and exchange ideas." -Sharon Hadar, educator in Raanana, Israel

So long as there is a workplace... there will be schools.
"The K-12 experience for students also provides societal infrastructure that allows for a working class. By 2050, the 'World of Work' will have little resemblance to what it is today. We should hope this to be the case for schools as well. If we begin by helping children to identify their strengths, interests and values - and then dedicate time in school to cultivating them towards exploring where each child's unique place in the world might be - I think we'll be on the right path regardless of what new technologies or advances in learning become available.  - David Miyashiro, Superintendent, Cajon Valley Union School District, California, United States

School design will be very security oriented.
"Because of school shootings, there will be safe rooms. Climate change will lead to more extreme weather-related school closings, and as a result, schools will become a hub, a place where students go occasionally when they need it." -Shannon Brake, educator in Kansas, United States

Alternately, school design won't change much.
"The classroom hasn't changed much in the past 50 years. Even the bell design is the same as it was 50 years ago." -Vicki Albritton, educator in Georgia, United States
For more conversation starters about the future of education, sign up here for the weekly TED-Ed Newsletter.

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What's the future of education? Teachers respond

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What's the future of education? How will students learn differently? What will the schools of the future look like? We asked TED-Ed Innovative Educators to share their ideas. Their answers ar...

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Food, water, and shelter are basic human needs, but 1.2 billion people in the world live without adequate housing, according to a report by the World Resources Institute's Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. Today at SXSW, an Austin-based startup will unveil its approach to combat that deficiency by using low-cost 3D printing as a potential solution.

ICON has developed a method for printing a single-story 650-square-foot house out of cement in only 12 to 24 hours, a fraction of the time it takes for new construction. If all goes according to plan, a community made up of about 100 homes will be constructed for residents in El Salvador next year. The company has partnered with New Story, a nonprofit that is vested in international housing solutions. "We have been building homes for communities in Haiti, El Salvador, and Bolivia," Alexandria Lafci, co-founder of New Story, tells The Verge.

The first model, scheduled to be unveiled in Austin today, is a step toward providing shelter to those in underserved communities. Jason Ballard, one of ICON's three founders, says he is going to live in a model to test out their practical use. "We are going to install air quality monitors. How does it look, and how does it smell?" Ballard also runs Treehouse, a company that focuses on sustainable home upgrades.

Using the Vulcan printer, ICON can print an entire home for $10,000 and plans to bring costs down to $4,000 per house. "It's much cheaper than the typical American home," Ballard says. It's capable of printing a home that's 800 square feet, a significantly bigger structure than properties pushed by the tiny home movement, which top out at about 400 square feet. In contrast, the average New York apartment is about 866 square feet.

The model has a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and a curved porch. "There are a few other companies that have printed homes and structures," Ballard says. "But they are printed in a warehouse, or they look like Yoda huts. For this venture to succeed, they have to be the best houses." The use of cement as a common material will help normalize the process for potential tenants that question the sturdiness of the structure. "I think if we were printing in plastic we would encounter some issues."

Once ICON completes material testing and tweaking of the design, the company will move the Vulcan printer to El Salvador to begin construction. ICON says its 3D-printed houses will create minimal waste and labor costs are significantly reduced. The company also intends to build homes in the US eventually. It's a compelling solution to solving housing shortages but one that could be contentious among labor unions that represent workers.

It's almost cliché that tech innovations happen in the high-end, for-profit segment long before they filter down to the masses, where innovation could serve the greatest social good. ICON and New Story are challenging that premise. Lafci uses the example of latency in cellphone availability to reach the African continent as the reason she believes in the endeavor. "(ICON) believes, as do I, that 3D printing is going to be a method for all kinds of housing," she says.

But the company is already looking past the global housing crises to think about communities that will one day live off-planet. "One of the big challenges is how are we going to create habitats in space," Ballard says. "You're not going to open a two by four and open screws. It's one of the more promising potential habitat technologies."

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This cheap 3D-printed home is a start for the 1 billion who lack shelter

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Food, water, and shelter are basic human needs, but 1.2 billion people in the world live without adequate housing, according to a report by the World Resources Institute's Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. At SXSW, an Austin-based startup, ICON, will unveil its approach to combat that deficiency by using low-cost 3D printing as a potential solution.

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Karen, Katrina, Tyler, and Mohamed https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/01/these-are-the-top-10-best-and-worst-jobs-for-the-future.html

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180312-historys-unfounded-fears-over-the-future-of-work

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15 Years at IBM as the #1 Most Awarded Engineer with 270 awards lead Thomas Frey to be The Top Futurist Speaker in the Globe! Get a Quote Today!

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Transportation: Olivia, Medina, Melissa, Drew, and Collin 

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Transportation: Olivia, Medina, Melissa, Drew, and Collin 

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Hyper loop possibly by 2025
Shoes that can take you anywhere
Flying cars
All people will have electric cars which will reduce pollution

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/elon-musk-s-hyperloop-dream-may-come-true-soon-ncna855041

http://haccmarketing.blogspot.com/2017/10/hyperloop-future-transportation.html

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Diana, Amy, and Natalynn
food will be better for people. Less fast food more vegetables. Crickets would be put in food. There will be more McDonalds with order touch screens. Food printers will be more common. The food would be put in the shape of a marble. Serving sizes would be used more. wouldn't have to go to the store it would be brought to you like Blue Apron.

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Ben, Kaden, Angel, Joel, Brylee
http://www.futureforall.org/2018/march/goodyear-oxygene-concept-tire.html
In thirty years from now technology will look a lot the same but there will be some very big differences, planes will be smarter and we will have more efficient robots. We also predict that there will be giant brains on space ships. This brain is able to move around inside of a space station and will be able to move freely.
We think that we will also have machines that eye cameras in the eye sockets of blind eyes, that way people will be able to see normally. Ben also predicts that there will be scientists that have chips in their brain to give them the same amount of knowledge as a computer.
We also predicts that using egg whites as power will be a usable power outlet. Another prediction from our group is a more efficient power grid. https://www.popsci.com/egg-whites-could-power-clean-energy-future
We think that there will be a device that transfers memories from deceased peoples to a Bluetooth file and it is a memory.
Another thought from our group is that there will also be regular flights to cities on mars. We believe that robotic pets will be a normal thing.
https://www.tesla.com/elon-musk

Finally we think that Elon Musk rules earth (and mars) and his face is on the official seal of earth. He will also have his signature and self portrate on the moon.  ;) #love2048

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Futurists can dish out some exciting and downright scary visions for the future of machines and science that either enhance or replace activities and products near and dear to us.

Being beamed from one location to another by teleportation was supposed to be right around the corner/in our lifetime/just decades away, but it hasn't become possible yet. Inventions like the VCR that were once high tech -- and now aren't -- proved challenging for some: The VCR became obsolete before many of us learned how to program one. And who knew that working with atoms and molecules would become the future of technology? The futurists, of course.

Forecasting the future of technology is for dreamers who hope to innovate better tools -- and for the mainstream people who hope to benefit from the new and improved. Many inventions are born in the lab and never make it into the consumer market, while others evolve beyond the pace of putting good regulations on their use.

Next, we'll take a look at some sound-loving atoms, tiny tools for molecules, huge bunches of data and some disgruntled bands of people who may want to set all of this innovation back with the stroke of a keyboard.

No one wants to be called a zero in terms of intelligence, but having zero-sized intelligence in computing means packing a whole lot of brains in a tiny, tiny package. Computer companies encourage forward-thinking creativity, and some, such as Intel, even have futurists on board to predict where technology is headed. Futurist Brian David Johnson sees the future advance of computing to so small a size that the housing for the computer itself is almost zero. We have the technology to put computers almost anywhere and in almost anything. Computers used to take up entire rooms, then whole desktops, laps and palms, to micro-chip-sized casings and atom-powered transistors invisible to the naked eye [source: Seligson]

Many have predicted that the shrinking of computing size would also lead to the end of something called Moore's Law. Gordon E. Moore, a co-founder of Intel, famously predicted that the number of transistors on a chip will roughly double every 24 months. As computer brains have diminished in size -- with some models powered by just five atoms and one-atom developments about 10 to 20 years down the road -- getting smaller may reach an end point as atomic transistors replace chips. Whether the low cost will trickle down despite the high cost of innovating such small transistors remains to be seen [source: Menegaz].

Space exploration has taken some hits in the 21st century, with cuts to the U.S. and other international space program budgets. But with the Curiosity Rover on Mars as of August 2012 and plans to launch the "most powerful rocket in history," the Space Launch System (SLS) by 2017, NASA is still very much in the business of the future. After the planned, unmanned sendoff of the SLS in 2017, NASA intends to send a crew of up to four astronauts into space by 2021. This could be a return to the moon, with capabilities for missions on other planets [sources: Landau; NASA].

Even with the world economic downturns of this century, individuals and corporations in the private sector also plan to keep aiming for the stars and enabling people to buy space exploration tickets of their own. Some futurists of decades past would be surprised to see that space travel for every man isn't commonplace, but for a few wealthy adventurers, it's no longer the stuff of science fiction. Maybe their trips will help drive down costs for the rest of us.

Will there be a day when you say "I can't read your mind, you know!" and the reply will be "Oh, stop it -- of course you can!"? It could happen. Neuroscientists are finding ways to read people's minds with machines, and although this has been in the works for decades, real progress is being made by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and elsewhere. Translating electrical activity from the brain by means of decoding brainwaves is one way to help sufferers of dementia, for example, who have complications with neurotransmitters relaying thoughts into comprehensible speech or holding thoughts long enough to get them out verbally before they're forgotten.

On the other hand, it is more than a little frightening to know that science and machines could soon have access to our innermost thoughts. Implications for neurohacking into people's thoughts have also been studied in relation to neuromarketing, which targets people's brains by manipulating their wants and desires through marketing and advertising. Our thoughts and actions could actually be hijacked by a form of media that makes us think we're getting what we want, when really, we're going for something our brains may only think is supposed to be good [sources: IGF; Carmichael].

Even if scientists and marketers can't get access to our brains for neurohacking or neuromarketing, can they get access to our data? With unprecedented amounts of images and data available online, filling clouds and other Web-based storage, media, government regulatory bodies and marketers work around the clock to mine user preferences, habits and even relationships.

What to do with all of this data, and more specifically and maybe more urgently, how can we keep all of our activities in the virtual space from shaping the real space of our world? As search preferences narrow results when using the Internet, and our reading and research have become "optimized" based on what key words people search for, our choices in buying products and accessing news and information narrows as the enormous stores of data accumulate.

Data and the machines and algorithms used to manage and make sense of it could largely replace independent decision-making -- either large or small -- and it is happening at such a speed that it's sometimes hard to remember the data isn't in control. People still control the data, but just who has this control and what they do with it will become an ongoing challenge [source: Seligson; IGF].

Picture a tiny bit of a thing on an already miniscule computer chip. Something microscopic with the power to think like a computer without the need of complex circuitry and capable of being moved by light or sound: That is quantum technology simplified.

Put less simply, quantum control uses a technology derived from physics for computer applications. Quantum electrodynamics, or QED, describes the interaction of matter and light, and QED-circuits take this interaction to the computer chip by trying to harness the interaction for circuitry in machines. Phonons are sound-activated quantum vibrations that move circuitry and motor machines at the chip level.

All of these breakthroughs in quantum technology are advancing the zero-sized intelligence we touched on earlier, and they're very exciting to techies and scientists alike. They merge science and technology into something that isn't mere experimentation, but has enormous implications because they work and may someday power the computer and communication devices we use every day. Their enormity comes in their tiny, atomic-sized power [source: MIT].

Young people have never before been so technologically savvy and interconnected, with so much time on their hands and so little money in their pockets, as they are now. There have always been disgruntled youth who fight the establishment and their parents for change and strike out against the old regimes in favor of new freedoms. But in the 21st century, a global recession, lack of opportunity and lack of hope for the youth are practically boiling over -- or, at least, are simmering and ready to explode.

People between the ages of 16 and 24, and ranging from the unschooled to those with doctorate-level educations, are coming up in a world where they may be stuck at home and without job prospects for years. All of this discontent may breed organized anarchy or rebellion in the form of technological or infrastructure sabotage, either physically or in cyberspace.

Technology at the nano level, or nanotechnology, allows for unbelievable precision and a way to copy the work of nature at its most basic functioning, but just how small is a nano? According to the National Nanotechnology Initiative, a sheet of paper is 100,000 nanometers thick and there are 25.4 million nanos in 1 inch. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter [sources: NNI; Sarchet]!

How is this impacting technology and the future? In just about every field, nanotechnology is being used for innovations in engineering, medical devices, imaging, computing and many more. Nanomedicine is one area experiencing rapid and dramatic growth. Because many illnesses and disorders in the body take place at the cellular level and grow as ruled by the formation of genetic makeup, nanotechnology has the capability to treat at the very root of the condition, rather than after it's fully spread throughout the body. It can be both preventative and curative because treatment reaches the narrowest and most minuscule centers of control. Neurosurgery and gene therapy are just two areas within nanomed that are particularly well-suited for nanotools and technology.

As the world gets smaller by sharing more and more of the same cyberspace and social tools, we are, like it or not, becoming a bigger collective target for the bad guys. While our data puts us all "out there" in many ways, that same data enables those involved in dark networks and activities to get lost and take on false, covert identities in order to plan bigger and bigger attacks.

Anonymous is one such dark group involved in "hactivism," having found its way into sensitive stores of information from the likes of the FBI, Visa and Mastercard, and government Web sites from the U.K. to China, causing large-scale, disabling computer terror. It functions as a collective of many individuals and spreads its login and computer activities thin enough to lead authorities in too many directions to track, and its acts target everything from politics to commerce.

As incidents of cyber-attacks -- and even infrastructure attacks to water systems and electrical grids -- grow, billions of dollars are stolen and billions of people are at risk each year. This may lead to increased cyber-insecurity, or widespread fear of the very technology people need to go about everyday commerce and communication [sources: Fantz; IGF].

As the Old Testament Bible story goes, the people once spoke the same language and were proud of the accomplishments they made in society, so they decided to build a tall monument to their accomplishments to spread their name to the heavens. God decided to humble their pride by confusing their language so they no longer spoke the same tongue. He created a babble and they abandoned their tower of Babel and scattered out to other nations, no longer proud and no longer one.

Maybe the creators of universal translators aren't out to reunite the nations and put an end to global language confusion, but amazingly enough, the day is near when two people speaking different languages can communicate with one another in their own voices but in languages they don't know or understand. An Arabic speaker can push a button and have his words translated into English as spoken, and vice-versa [source: Dillow].

Anyone who uses Internet-based translators knows the difficulty of getting an accurate translation through a computer, but some of the biggest names in computer technology and military intelligence are hard at work in enabling easier communication across the nations.

Maybe you aren't comfortable with all of the futurist predictions and even the current rate of technological advance, and that's OK. You can be yourself and interact in the world in a fairly low-tech way while allowing a surrogate, avatar or robot to live your online and tech life for you. Even the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has budgeted millions of dollars to create avatars that will act as surrogates for real, live soldiers [source: Ackerman].

While avatars and surrogates were once the stuff of games, virtual reality and computer interfacing, they are taking on more and more active roles as replacements for living breathing humans. Or, are they enhancements for humans?

Fully-realized robotic machines have become more and more widespread in medical technology and scientific development, both in the lab and in hospitals, enabling those with paralysis to move limbs, for instance. "Living" life with 'second life' surrogates is likely to become more and more common every day for those of us in less specialized fields, too.

Author's Note: 10 Futurist Predictions in the World of Technology

I think I'm too 21st century to be any 20th-century good. It's a pleasure to install and write instructions for peripheral devices or software, but I recently lost my cool trying to get a rabbit-ear antenna to work with a TV. Low tech and bad design make me batty, science fiction is not my thing, but the stuff of real science merging with technology! Definitely. Maybe least desired on futurist prediction lists, however, is anything involving dark networks. In that instance I do like the low-tech image of a light bulb going on above someone's head, not a faceless and gloomy underworld of tech-savvy ne'-er-do-wells using their genius for evil.

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10 Futurist Predictions in the World of Technology

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Futurists can dish out some exciting and downright scary visions for the future of machines and science that either enhance or replace activities and products near and dear to us. Being beamed from one location to another by teleportation was supposed to be right around the corner/in our lifetime/just decades away, but it hasn't become possible yet.