What we are about prophesy may, at first glance, seem outrageous but please hold judgment until we can make our arguments. We believe you will see this in our lifetime but it could take 20-30 years to come to fruition.
Education (we’re going to focus on K-12 but this will ultimately transition to higher education) is undergoing major change as we write this blog article. We’ll bring all the pieces together so you see what we see in the crystal ball.
Goal: Every child will be taught exactly the same information on the same day and time in every school in America. This will allow children to move (relocate) and be at exactly the same place so they never lose a step. This is the goal of Common Core. To do that there are several things that need to come together:
Computers – Many school districts have or are in the process of giving computers to every student. These computers can/are/will be used to deliver lesson materials and conduct testing. No more outdated paper books. No more paper or pencils (so we save the environment and money). No waste. Add voice recognition (like Google’s or Alexa or Cortana or similar) and the student won’t need to write anything down or even type. The voice will be king. Everything said by the user (or anyone within recording distance of the microphone) will be recorded and transmitted to the master computer (AI) so it can be analyzed and used to help improve the quality of the students education and help overcome any negative tendency’s of those who speak ill, use inappropriate terms or phrases (that were within the speakers radius). This will help crush racial, gender, hate speech or other negatives that must be removed from society.
Individual customized lesson plans – There’s a lot of noise about creating customized education plans for each student such that their exact needs are met. These plans will be adaptive and modified based on the learning outcomes of each student. Unfortunately traditional teachers can’t handle that load and can’t split their time to fill each students needs. Some believe this is the future of education and that for our children to compete in the world we must follow this path. Thus, individualized plans will require a centralized education AI.
AI’s – Lesson delivery will come from a central AI (Artificial Intelligence) which can monitor multiple students at once. A single AI will be able to handle hundreds to thousands of students. They will continually test and create adaptive education plans to maximize each students abilities. There will be limited physical assistance needed. Indeed, as AI’s advance they will have names that one might well associate with a person. The student of tomorrow will feel normal calling their AI John or Mary (or similar). AI’s learn as they work. They never get sick. Their cost is spread across multiple decades. They are always equipped with the latest information (unlike teachers who get stuck doing things the old way once out of school). To go with this we’ll see audio (earpieces so the student can hear and be spoken to); sensors that are worn (they can appear to be jewelry or could even be implanted) that will monitor attention, focus and biochemical markers that will allow information to be sent to the computer system to help assure the students are attentive and engaged.
Tech’s instead of Teachers – Since instruction will be individualized and come from a central computer we won’t need teachers as we know them. Instead we’ll have “Techs” who can troubleshoot any issues and be the hands and legs of the AI’s. These “Techs” won’t need specific topic knowledge since the AI will know everything and provide all lessons. The “Tech’s” will be facilitators and help the AI as needed.
Decentralized learning (except for underachievers) – We’re seeing a growing movement to learn remotely. Some students will excel under this approach while others may need more structure. The schools of tomorrow will, for the complaint and hard-working student, allow mobile learning with only occasional visits to a specific physical site. Indeed, this is being done as we speak. Students who are more challenged will be required to spend more physical time at a location so they can be properly motivated to improve their performance. Physical schools of tomorrow will be used in different ways and will fill the gaps mobile learning can’t handle well.
Are there any negatives? Well…maybe a couple of possibilities. First, those who control the computers will control who learns what (or not), when and how. They will control education on politics, religion, ethics, moral’s and a host of topics. While it’s unlikely anyone or any group would decide to re-write history it needs to be considered. Second, everyone will be the same. The same education, same facts, same opinions, same expectations. Finally everyone will be equal and identical so all differences are gone. No differences between male or female. Gender neutrality will be the standard. With everyone thinking the same, strife and conflict will be eliminated…that’s a good thing…right?
By removing experimentation and variance from education we assure a better trained worker student will better fill the needs of the workplace, be happier and more fulfilled and productive. And just to think that none of this could have happened without Common Core as a guiding vision and computers. Long live the Hive!
Btw: If you still don’t buy into our vision of the future read our article on tech: http://www.swweducation.org/?p=3478
If we missed any trends you’ve seen or think are part of the master plan please drop us a note and share. We’ll pass your comments on to our AI.
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