Justin’s Place

The year is 2007. We are separated, segregated, and disconnected. There is resistance, and we are fighting against limitations. We are in the middle of a revolution.

By the year 2020, much of this will change. Technology will be in everything that we do, everything will be connected, and security will be at a whole new level. Technology use will be a seamless, natural, and virtually invisible part of everyday life.

The future is here; however, ignorance is getting in the way. Technology will continue to play a larger and larger role as time goes on. This will force out the ignorance and resistance. People will be force to use technology. Remember those people who claimed they didn’t need a cell phone? Where are they today? Much of the same thing will happen over the next 13 years on a larger scale. The wall of resistance is going to fall because technology is going to continue to play a larger role in our lives. Once this happens everything will be connected by THE network. Television, phones, computers, people, everything will be connected. Furthermore, these connections will no longer be seen as interactions with machines but with people. Technologies like skype, facebook, and second life are making a social virtual world. These technologies will only continue to get stronger and more powerful as time goes on. I’m sure most people are afraid for security issues; however, security will be much better than every before. Computers and systems will be able to recognize people not just usernames and passwords. Biometrics is the answer. The use of your fingerprint or iris as your login is way more secure than a simple 8 character login and password. This is already starting to happen at airports across the world. Technology is going to continue to grow, become more powerful, and respected. In the same respect, eventually technology will be unnoticed because it will be the typical everyday way of life.

As technology is growing, education will be growing as well. Education is going through its own changes; however, it will also change because of technology. Certain aspects of curriculum will begin to change over the next 13 years, and we will begin to see students learning at earlier and earlier ages. The composition of the classroom will also alter over the next several years. There will no longer be regular education and secondary education. There will also be several adults in any given classroom; there will be at least two teachers and a person care aid. These changes will not be a result of technology, but a result of legislation. However, integrating technology into the classroom will make this type of learning environment thrive. Technology will allow this setting to be successful. On the other hand, technology will create some curriculum changes. Students will need to learn the proper uses of technology and how to use some of the tools. Unless new courses are introduced to teach these types of things, we will have to incorporate these items into our lessons as well. As educators our leg work will be more existent in the preparation of the lessons then ever before, and we will act more as a facilitator once the class time starts. The students will take charge of their learning and the technology will help get them be life long learners.

By 2020, technology will have infused itself in everything to a point that the resistance barrier has been broken and we are actually able to move on as a whole. We will all be connected, learning, and interacting in an environment that is more secure than ever.

The future is here, it just hasn’t hit everyone at the same time.