"Oh the places we will/ can go." Imagining 2045.
Giphy: "Steve Aoki Netflix GIF By Millennium Parade"
It’s the year 2045. Two decades from now. Where will we be? What will technology look like? What will education look like? What will creativity, socialization, the physical world, and the virtual world look like?
In considering these questions, I am reminded of my childhood where I watched episodes of the Jetsons which ignited my imagination to envision a world and time when society engages with and navigates life in manners that are similar to that of the show’s futuristic characters.
 | |
| Boomerang Official Happy Welcome Home GIF |
Although we [society] have many outstanding technologies to develop until we are able to consider our communities and lifestyles comparable to that of the Jetsons, we, in the year 2020 are still pretty close which provides strong promises for the possibilities of 2045.
Considering the current ecosystem and method of interaction and learning, I think some of the biggest gaps that the world and societies are facing as a result of the pandemic provide a promising for patterns and trends of the future.
(1) Viability of Facer and Sanford Scenario:
Over the last two decades, access to and use of individualized learning platforms (such as Coursera, EdX, LinkedIn Learning, and YouTube, etc) has increased and progressed dynamically. These systems and technologies have shifted possibilities for employability, entrepreneurship, and of course the exchange and distribution of information.
Since Facer and Sanford's predictions in 2010, the world has experienced slow but dynamic progress in the realm of independent learning. I envision a world in 2045, where society continues to expand on such progress, and shifts traditional modes of education to cater to trends in learner behavior in an effort to meet the needs and demands of individual learning through open platforms.
(3) My Prediction #1: Hybrid Learning:
In addition to investments and growth in platforms and tools that support individual learning opportunities, society will simultaneously see growth in hybrid and blended learning models specifically for K-12 and young learners in optimizing platforms for patterns and behaviors in individual learning,
The Learning Accelerator (TLA). a non-profit organization that aims to support the establishment of equitable education through technology began its work of implementing systemic support mechanisms for blended learning over twenty years ago.
One of the major trends that TLA has observed is the low adoption of blended learning models pre-2020 and the massive adoption of blended and hybrid learning models in 2020 in response to disruptions caused by Covid-19. This increase in the volume of hybrid and blended learning models will ultimately lead to increased resources, research, and models of practice for hybrid learning implementation. The implication of these trends on education is the potential for hybrid learning to be maximized to balance the needs of every individual learner. Considering the progress of blended and hybrid learning models it is reasonable to predict that 2045 holds a promising future for the development and implementation of such models informal educational environments.
While the vision and hope for the broad implementation of blended and hybrid learning is strong, an important factor to consider as highlighted by Facer and Sanford is the impact of factors beyond the development of important technologies (Facer and Sanford, 2010). Blended and hybrid learning models, --when optimally implemented -- have the potential to solve some of the most pressing challenges, gaps, and inequities in education. However, socioeconomic barriers such as access to technology and the cultivation of the necessary digital literacies can impact both the practicality and “success-rate” of such technologies and practices. The presence of socio-economic barriers must be knowledge and resolved as education leaders, researchers, policy-makers, and developers consider the innovative possibilities that await us in 2045.
"Instead, we needed to explore how social and cultural contexts might shape the production of new technologies, and reciprocally, how the clusters of capabilities (Williams 2006) offered by scientific and technological development might be amplified, resisted or modified by a range of social and cultural developments."
My Prediction #2: Virtual/ holographic conferencing:
(3) Virtual/ holographic Conferencing:
Additionally, another vision that I have for 2045 is the development of avatars that offer the opportunity of live, communal, and “in-person like” experiences. An interesting and insightful trend to examine as foundations for this development is the utilization of avatar and Virtual Reality technologies in entertainment and music.
We have seen such technologies leveraged primarily for entertainment as in the cases of Travis Scott’s Astro world, an effort in collaboration with Fortnite where fans were able to experience the artists' concert via virtual reality. In August of 2020, Tik Tok hosted a virtual experience with The Weekend where fans were able to interact with an avatar of the singer/producer in a live-streamed virtual concert.
Given the aforementioned uses of VR for entertainment and media, it is not unrealistic to imagine that such technologies will be expanded for use in business, education, and potentially every-day interaction. In 2045, it is possible that a world exists where students are able to virtually engage in classrooms through the use of avatars, and corporate teams are able to work from home but engage in “traditional” forms of communication, team building, ideation, and execution through the use of VR technology.
Hmmm.. We certainly have a lot to look forward to.
Feel free to view the highlighted sources for further review:
Facer, K., & Sandford, R. (2010). The next 25 years?: Future scenarios and future directions for education and technology. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 26, 74–93.
Hi Hali,
ReplyDeleteI think the two predictions you mentioned are very feasible. First of all, we have seen the feasibility of hybrid learning since COVID. In fact, I think part of the basic learning content can be used for online learning. However, courses that require student interaction and teacher answers should still be carried out offline. For example, part of the lecture part of the lesson can be placed in online learning, while the discussion and lab parts will still be conducted in the school. This is conducive to solving some of the inequality in education. For example, many AP courses are not carried out in my hometown of Chongqing, China, so many international school students can only go to Beijing or Shanghai to find teachers to study. During the epidemic, many teachers and students were forced to accept the hybrid learning model, so I think hybrid learning can temporarily alleviate some educational inequality and regional differences. However, the most fundamental reason is the economic problems of the entire society.
The use of holographic images you mentioned is also very interesting. Holographic images undoubtedly shorten the physical distance, allowing people to communicate more conveniently. However, do you think such applications will blur the boundary between people's life and work? In the process of developing holographic images, should we consider more about sociology and psychology? In addition, holographic images are increasingly used in entertainment and music. Last month, a South Korea’s entertainment company’s newly launched girl group has virtual idol members. These virtual idols will appear in concerts and mv through holographic projection. Maybe we can see singers holding concerts in our living room in the future:)
Hi Hali,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post, I was also a fan of the Jetsons:) I enjoyed your perspective on hybrid learning, which I think is one of the silver linings of COVID (dare I say that it has any ...). Since early summer, I have been working pretty closely with the New York Law School faculty in their digital transition. We've take the ID approach of 1) they reflect on instructional goals as they were in traditional F2F classes 2) identifying the key activities to meet those objectives and 3) we help shape that to the online sphere--treating that transition as different, neither better or worse. What is interesting is that the process has really enabled a lot of reflection about their instructional approaches, opened up a lot of diverse options, so that --and here is the silver lining--I believe that when this pandemic passes, they will be better educators for it.
Hi Hali,
ReplyDeleteYour post does offer me some refreshing insights into future scenarios. Even though we did not have the Jetsons in China, I watched other cartoons presenting futuristic items and scenes when I was a child, always driving my imagination beyond boundaries.😁
I discussed the future scenario of "trust yourself" in my blog post as well. I believe this is a viable scenario in the near future cause we already saw the trends in many sectors in our society. The education platforms you mentioned, like Coursera, EdX, are convincing examples. They are promoting individualized and learner-paced learning. Your first prediction of hybrid learning, I think, is also possible in the future cause it is based on diverse individual needs, offers more options to meet students.
I am pretty interested in your second prediction. I did pay attention to VR/AR/MR, which is close to what you mentioned, but I never thought about the virtual avatar. It reminds me of a virtual Japanese singer called Hatsune Miku. She gains great popularity in China. Maybe the virtual avatar is a good way to alleviate learning anxiety for students, who are too shy to talk, and thus engage them in online classes.