The first of CORE’s Ten Trends for 2011 has had its video uploaded, and is now available to use as a starter for staffroom conversations or personal inquiry.
Four decades of computers in the classroom has seen big changes—and there’s more to come
We’re now entering the fourth decade of serious computer-use in classrooms. Each decade has been characterised by a significant development in the technology—in the 1980s it was the standalone computer in the back of the classroom or computer lab, and in the 1990s we saw the advance of computer networking and the introduction of the World Wide Web. In the 2000s it was social networking that became the focus, with the emphasis on the user as a contributor and creator, not just consumer.
In the coming decade this change will continue, with several significant developments that are likely to impact on the way we use and interact with computers—including for education.
The web’s getting smarter…
As a focus for our first trend this year, the CORE team have recognised that the web itself is becoming ‘smarter’, that is, there is a developing ‘intelligence’ within the web itself, facilitated by the devices within the network itself, rather than depending purely on the intervention and control of humans.
The three areas highlighted by the CORE team to illustrate this are:
- The Internet of Things
- The Adaptive web
- Learning analytics
Have your say…
Visit our Ten Trends 2011: Trend 1 – Smart Web to read more about each of these things, with links to some examples – and add your thoughts about where you see these things impacting on what you do in the classroom or our education system in general.
You are welcome to comment on any of the trends in the Ten Trends list.
CORE’s Ten Trends links
- The Smart Web: Trend 1 for 2011
- CORE’s Ten Trends 2011: the Ten Trends for the current year
- CORE’s Ten Trends: information about the Ten Trends
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This reminds me of a recent article (in Time Magazine, http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2048138,00.html) I read on Kurzweil’s ‘Singularity’ [Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity%5D%5D
It may all seem rather ‘sci-fi’, but your post shows we are already moving in that direction, and fast.
While I don’t see teachers being replaced any time soon (!), I do see great applications for geo-location-based learning and in adaptive software such as Peerwise.
I do see issues of digital citizenship being absolutely at the heart of this issue, too, as more of us conduct more of our lives online, providing information about ourselves in a myriad of ways.