Are we ready for the future classroom?

I just recently read an article titled 21 Things That Will Be Obsolete by 2020 by Tina Barseghian. It speaks about what she believes our classrooms will look like in the year 2020. There are a lot of things in this article that I agree with, but frankly there are many that I do not. I have chosen to share my views on what I think the top 5 pieces of this article are: 
1. Desks- Do I see us moving completely away from desks? No. I see us moving toward tables and desks that allow students to interact, but I do not foresee us completely doing away with desks. After all, where would we put our books or computers? Maybe by the year 2020 the tables and desks will have the computers built right into them. Who knows?
2. Computers- That is, large computers and computer screens. I see this disappearing by the year 2020. Even today there are not many left because much of what we use now is through smart phones or other smart technologies.
3. Schools- I do not see schools disappearing within the next ten years. However, I think the line between school and home is going to become fuzzy because students will do most of their work on the computer. I think that students will be expected to do a lot more independent learning from home and then come into school to teach the rest of the class.
4. Parent- Teacher Night- Unfortunately, this may be something that disappears within ten years. I say this because I have witnessed conference nights where parents are busy working and trying to make ends meet and do not make it to the conferences. I hope that in the next ten years, our economy improves but we still need to be prepared in case it doesn't. I also say this because we are expecting that by 2020 most schools will have advanced computer technology. Well, guess what? The parents of our students are going to be the taxpayers paying for these advances so that their children can receive a good education. Although I feel as though parent- teacher night may disappear, I think that it may become easier to communicate with parents. When we begin teaching, our students' parents will be from this generation. We grew up in a society that was technologically literate and know how to use many of the communication tools that the internet offers.
5. Paper- Yes, I do believe that paper will significantly decrease by 2020. Students will be used to learning on computers. However, I do not wish to completely eliminate the use pf paper. I want my students, for instance, to know how to write and not just know how to type. I think that writing is a fundamental part of learning. You remember what you write down. I think that it is important to find a balance between using pen and paper and using the computer to teach and to learn.


What do you think?

Using Tablets to Engage Students

This is something that I have been wondering and felt the urge to write a blog about. There is so much hyper right now surrounding the new ipads that Apple has introduced to the world. Incase you don't know, the ipad is a flat, fairly large tablet with a touch screen that allows access to the internet as well as other regular xomputer functions. So...I have been wondering for quite some time: How affective are the ipads? Are the ipads good to use in schools with students? Being that I am curious, I decided to type this question into my web browser. I cam across a video posted by ABC news that shows how using ipad tablets can help students with special needs. It seems to me that the ipad can be used as an updated/ upgraded PECS system, and possibly even serve as a communication device in the future- kind of like today's dynavoxes.


I do foresee many schools moving toward this in the future, because right now we are using smart boards. Smart boards are compatible with the ipad. However, economic growth will need to significantly increase before we see most of the school districts across the country being able to afford this new technology. It's an interesting concept and videos such as this one show me that the technology that we use with students will be affective. It just depends on how much access to and practice with the technology we have.