Virtual Insanity
Scenario for The Future of Technology in Secondary Education in 2020
As the demand on broadband is continuously increasing and becoming more widely available so does the internet usage in schools. By the end of 2007, newscasts report that major cities in Europe are aiming to having wireless broadband for free by the end of 2009. While in 2008 this wireless broadband is already possible in pacific Asia, however it is not yet free. Hearing this, the U.S, as the competitive country that they are, aims to having free wireless broadband in 2011.
While demand on high quality education is increasing, governments realize and come to an agreement that so should the support on education. By increasing the spending on secondary education, governments hope to achieve high levels of economic growth, improve the social development of the country as well as progress their political position.
By the end of 2008, nearly all high schools are fully equipped with computers and have access to high-speed internet connections. This has made it possible for all children, regardless of their economical background, to have the same level of education and with this, in the future, they all have the same chance of succeeding. The governments have also increased the funding on teacher’s training, and therefore teachers are more experienced in working with new technologies. In addition, E.T.T.O (Educator’s Training in Technology Organization) was established in 2009 and teachers had to get a special degree in order to certify their technology proficiency and get hired in schools.
Because of various influences from different institutes, foundations and the United Nations, who are pushing to improve the secondary education in developing countries, the governments from these countries finally decided to spend more on education and improve student learning. In 2012, they have reached their goal where students have access to many books and because of the Global Libraries initiative, which is founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, students also have access to broadband and the open-source community and so on for free. By 2014 the $100 laptop idea has also been carried out and the one laptop per child project is being fulfilled.
In 2010, various schools in the secondary education, which are supported by the government, have started to introduce the 3-D Holograms. With the introduction of this sort of technology, it makes clear how technology can help and facilitate motivation and enthusiasm in student learning. And by the end of 2011, it has become common in secondary education to use the 3-D Holograms.
In early 2009, e-books have started to become more popular in the secondary education and have started to replace the printed textbooks. But since the prices for these e-books were still a little bit pricey, textbooks were still used and preferred. E-paper has nevertheless taken over completely and the demand for hardcopy paper is as good as gone. Because of the increasing use of the open-source community in schools in 2009, the printed textbook’s position in the market is surely threatened, and prices for textbooks have started to decline dramatically in early 2010. This has greatly increased the demand on e-books by the end of 2010 and by the end of 2011, virtually every school has introduced e-books.
By 2014, learning tablets for students in secondary education have entered the market. These learning tablets enable students to be connected and to communicate with their school, teachers and peers and also have access to any information source they need. One’s physical location is going to be less important than it used to be. Since there’s access to free wireless broadband, with this learning tablet, students are able to send information in real time, from one place to another, whether it is a video, audio or a document. This will move learning experience to be anytime and anywhere, because when something interesting is happening, a student can instantly broadcast it to his peer group. Students tend to learn more from their peers than anyone else, with this peer-to-peer communication students can also be rewarded with grades. By 2019, practically every school has introduced this learning tablet and is available to all students.
In 2017 some high schools around the world have started using the virtual classroom. This is where students physically located around the world can meet and share experiences and knowledge. This is somehow similar to the use of the open-source community, however with the virtual classrooms, audio and visual environment is fully immersive and students feel like they are in the same room. Together they can go to, for example, the jungles of South America and explore the landscape in a simulated virtual world with the sights, sounds, smells and sensations of actually being there. With this virtual classroom it is also possible for students who are home schooled or not able to go to school physically, because of for example a disability, to be present in an actual classroom. This way they are able to participate with the other students and not miss out on anything. Because of the success of the virtual classroom on how it has improved the learning experience for students and learning enthusiasm, in 2020, this way of teaching and learning has been introduced into most schools of the secondary education.
Because of the introduction and utilization of these technologies the curriculum became more flexible and diverse and therefore students are also more motivated to participate in class. And at some schools, students could choose their own program of study, nevertheless, in most schools, students’ daily schedule remained the same and still had to follow the prearranged agenda.