Have you ever imagined what the world would be like in 2020? You may imagine a world of Star Trek technologies, glass phones, and holographs. What about a world WITHOUT technology? At least, that is, a world where technology is so seamlessly integrated into our lives, that we barely realize it's there? Forbes magazine is picturing a world just like this, where we are the folks actually creating, and not just using, technology. Sure, technology is a part of our every day lives now in 2013. But, is technology a part of US? Forbes suggests that in 2013, not only will we be living in a ubiquitous computing world, we will actually be the ones controlling and creating our technology. Imagine a world where we are creating our OWN apps and programs, catered specifically for our own needs and aesthetic preferences. Creating technology will be as easy as drawing a picture. WE WILL BE CONTROLLING THE DIGITAL WORLD! Cool! Even cooler, our students will be the ones running this digital artistic renaissance. The concept of running our own technologies will be a part of their everyday world, where they take center stage.
I did a little investigating to see exactly what we could do now to help prepare our kids as the next technology inventors. I was interested to see how many things we already did for our students, at least in eKids. Here is a list compiled by readwrite.com:
- Scratch - teaches kids the basics of coding and they can even create their own games (I used this a few years ago in ekids and the kids loved it....although it doesn't download anymore on the mini's. Maybe they will come out with a version in the cloud!)
- App Inventor- Apparently last July, Google released App Inventor for Android which like the name implies, uses building blocks similar to Scratch that allows you to create apps. The goal of the program is to "enable people to become creators, not just consumers in this mobiel world". PERFECT! The program is in closed beta version...hopefully we will see it soon! Regardless, there are a ton of free app builder websites out there now that our students could take advantage of.
- Alice- a FREE open source program that allows students to learn 3D programing in a social networking type environment. Looks awesome! Not cloud based though! Hopefully that's on the horizon!
- Lego Mindstorms- lets students program robots to make them "humanoids". I think the "Lego League" club uses these. Why not bring them to the classroom?
If in fact Forbes is making not only a very interestingly awesome but also accurate prediction, how are we preparing our students? Can our students create technology? Do they have the tools to do so? What can we do as educators to bridget this gap?
It is exciting and interesting to think that in a matter of years we will be the ones creating those apps and pieces of technology we need. I like the idea that our students will live in a world that when they think of something useful with technology, they will have the knowledge and resources to create technology. Instead of relying on developers and others to make their ideas come true, I see students turning to teachers and mentors for guidance, assistance, encouragement, and approval.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but see teachers turning to students for guidance, assistance, encouragement, and approval.
DeleteYou do make good points, but I also think that this can really only happen once we implement coding and computer programming into our curriculum. This whole movement will have to start with us...
DeleteI find it to be really exciting that students are going to be able to create the technology that they need in the future. They live in a world that is always changing and moving forward and will need to be able to adapt. I can't wait to see the kinds of things that they come up with.
DeleteI do see teachers giving them guidance but I also see students giving guidance to teachers as well, especially those who are not as educated on technology as we are.
I think that as I read this article, I was understanding it a bit differently--in my opinion, this article was not only about the seamless use of technology in our lives, but the transition of technological priorities as well. In the near future, people will be the creators of their own technology, as well as other media. We will use new apps and devices to be creative- not social, and that is what appeals to me as I look to the future of technology. I want to see a time where people can once again be authors and artists instead of serial facebookers.
ReplyDeleteI like your last statement there. I do have a concern about today's youth learning how to thoughtfully and correctly write. I feel as if kids are writing and typing at a younger age now but I wonder how the quality compares since students are used to writing in text lingo or posting on Facebook. I think this will change the way our teachers teach until students can learn the difference between text/social media writing and true composition.
DeleteI'm not sure what the older kids are producing, but the younger kids are somewhat fearless about desktop publishing because they are used to text messaging, and their writing reflects it--anything goes! It is a bit of an uphill, though not impossible, battle to teach kids the continuum of writing styles, from very informal (text messaging and grocery lists, for instance) to very formal (expository essays with all their fancy punctuation, capitalizations, and paragraph indents). My Language Arts co-teachers and I have added this very lesson into the curriculum, and it has to be reinforced with every writing project, so powerful is the influence of the social media/text messaging writing style. I wonder if grammar and punctuation are on the way out?
DeleteThis seems to be a reality for our students, much more than for our peers. Today's students have been raised in a society where these devices and advantages have become an ingrained part of their lives. The natural progression is for them to continue to develop technology that is personalized. As Andrea stated, this is an exciting prospect; the notion that we will become creators rather than simple consumers of information.
ReplyDeleteThis discussion and the idea of building one's own apps, really brings me back to the need for teachers to have some understanding of code. As we think of supporting learners to be thinking about creating their own technology, I'm seeing how we need to understand it, at least somewhat, to encourage children to develop their interests and see the possibilities.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the Forbes article, I was struck by how true it is already that the "brands of one" compete side-by-side with major marketers "in the social media space, broadcasting their news in the same fashion as major media outlets, or in software apps marketplaces, where 'Bob Schula' can hawk his wares right next to 'Adobe Systems,' and it's just as easy to buy hand-stenciled napkins from a seller on Etsy as it is to buy them from Crate & Barrel." I have seen this economy in action with high school age kids buying products on Etsy and recommending an Etsy vendor to friends just the same as a store at the mall. The seamless integration of technology into our lives is already here, and I am constantly aware of our interconnectedness nationally and globally because of it.
I think it is amazing to think that in a not so far future we will be able to have technology be an extension of who we are and what we do at all times. Even more amazing is the notion that we will be able to create apps that will help us in our daily lives so that technology will do what we need it to do for us on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteI think that what you are doing for eKIDS is great! You are really helping to prepare them for the future and what is coming. By giving them exposure now you are enabling them to be the authors of the future rather than just a bystander. One of my goals for the summer is to learn coding so that I am not as a blind in the technology world as I currently am.
Dion, I agree that it is crazy to think about what the future holds, in terms of new technologies. I can think about a million things that I would love an app to take care of for me. That would actually be a great prompt for ekids, "What app would you create to make your life easier?" I am sure we would get some great responses!
DeleteTechnology is going places none of us could ever imagine. I think about what the future holds and how that will effect my students, on a daily basis. How can we prepare our students for that unknown world ahead of them? I believe that students will need a strong foundation in technology in order to be successful in the future. The list Kara included in her post is a great start to preparing our students. Along with the 21st century skills and tech skills our students will be ready to face anything that is thrown their way.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this, I thought of it very differently. All I could think about is creating short cut codes for true codes. I guess it would be like spell check or even word predictor apps that we have now. You truly don't need to know how to spell, you only need to get close. I think it's going to be important for people to learn the foundations of true coding, because if they don't, we are really just covering up for our lack of knowledge. Therefore, we will always be relying on developers and technical support and we really won't be doing all the creating.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, I think that the future of technology design and creation is amazing and very fascinating. Living in a world where we can create our own tech and our own apps will be very cool. However, to be totally independent creators, we need to know the foundations and how the technology actually works.