The Future of Digital EdTech

Throughout this course, we have worked to take stock of the digital technology world we currently inhabit and how we may re-envision our schools in light of those innovations. At the same time, we’ve also been exploring and challenged with future concepts of digital tech — where are trends going, what will day-to-day life look like in x number of years, etc. Kevin Kelly, in his book The Inevitable (2016) as well as in his TNW Conference talk “The Emerging V-Cloud,” makes the case for a not-too-distant transformed world in which most objects and all humans are connected together in a super-web he dubs “the Mesh.” While I personally think it may take us a while to get there, I do agree that some of aspects of it will come soon, or already exist right now. For example, we are all constantly connected by devices — computers, laptops, smart TVs, smartphones, wearables, cars — and it’s easy to see a system in which all of these devices communicate and share data seamlessly with one another. Also, the notion of a hive-mind type of super-intelligence, constructed from the enormous amount of data and interactions occurring via the internet, doesn’t seem far-fetched either. One facet I do see quickly emerging as a regular part of our lives is the integration of digital displays and touchscreens. Even though it reminds me of the movie Minority Report, the world depicted in the Corning video A Day Made of Glass seems more and more inevitable, as digital displays can enhance almost any traditional technology or appliance by making them “smarter.” I think the expense of these technologies will keep them luxuries for a long time, and voice commands will have a greater role than a glass company advertisement would lead you to believe, but a world in which controls, books, signs, and customer service are replaced/enhanced by touchscreens does not seem like science fiction anymore.

If my chief criticism of Kelly’s view is that his timeline is too aggressive, my take on schools is even more so: I feel that the implementation of technological changes in schools will be glacial by comparison, though they will indeed have a profound impact. I agree with his idea that the “Mesh” is just beginning to emerge, and is already being seen in schools: “[i]n this new regime, old cultural forces, such as centralized authority and uniformity, diminish while new cultural forces, such as…sharing, accessing, [and] tracking come to dominate our institutions…. Sharing, though excessive to some now, is just beginning. The switch from ownership to access has barely begun” (Kelly, 2016, p.295). Over the past several years, learning has begun to reside more and more on the internet, with LMSs like Google Classroom, various edtech apps, and old-school research deep in the stacks replaced by online databases and Googling. Online education has taken off as well, providing an enriching, personalized experience for students and allowing schools to expand their offerings at low-costs. However, the switch from traditional classrooms to 1-to-1 device programs and online learning is one thing — transforming schools with re-imagined learning spaces and integrated digital technology is another. Perhaps one day we will reach a point in which digital edtech, such as interactive classroom touchscreens and VR headsets/software, will become the norm and affordable, but we are not at that point right now, particularly within Catholic schools, in which budgets are usually already maxed out. At my school, we are beginning to implement changes funded by our current capital campaign — our first project this summer is a TEAL classroom, followed over the next two years by makeovers to every classroom, including movable Cleartouch boards to replace our aging SmartBoards. Much of the work, though, does not have anything to do with technology. As noted in the NMC/COSN 2017 Horizon Report, the learning surrounding these forward-looking changes will need to be “authentic,” project- and inquiry-based learning, and teachers will have to receive substantial professional development as they transition from traditional pedagogical methods to becoming effective facilitators of student-centered classrooms.