Friday, March 8, 2013

The future

I believe the future of education will be in the hands of technology, even more than it is now. Seeing how many school divisions are focused on improving their use of technology in the school and classroom is great. There is so much more that can be done in a classroom if using technology than can be if not.
The information students are able to retrieve is exponentially better as well. It is easier for them to get information, there is more information for the students to choose from, and in this way, they get to learn how to pull out the good information from all the bad that is around it. 

With all the focus on technology, I wouldn't doubt to see a shift where there isn't a single textbook used in any school. This will obviously take time, and probably won't be true for at least another five years. However, I do believe that transfer will happen, and it will be for the best. 







Reading The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition was very overwhelming, and I am still not sure if I agree with everything that is written in it. 

Cloud computing is the first one mentioned. When I saw this, all I thought about was storage. Who would've thought there was more to cloud than storage?! (probably everyone BUT me, but that's not my point) 
This was great to read about. I learned that there are three different parts to the cloud universe: 
1. Cloud-based applications - applications hosted in the cloud
2. Platforms to create cloud-based applications 
3. Computing resources (ie. storage)

It is no wonder that schools are making the switch to the cloud. Considering how much expense a Division could cut by using the cloud, it would be a no-brainer. There are however some downfalls to it.
1. Internet - To access anything on the cloud you would need an internet connection. In this day and age an internet connection is not hard to come by, but if there is an issue with the connection, you cannot retrieve any of the information, programs, etc. 
2. Provider - What happens if the cloud provider you are currently using goes under? or decides it is time to quit? All of your belongings you have stored there are gone too. 

Mobiles will continue to grow with time as well. If you think about it, who do you know that doesn't have at least one smart device (ie. smart phone, tablet, ipod, etc)? Most people can stop thinking at smart phone because they are so widespread now. It seems anyone who can make use of their vast applications (and even some who can't) have one... Except this guy!
I continue to use my 'dumbphone' simply because I have a phone that works and my contract expires at the end of summer 2013, so with looking for a job and all, who knows where I will even be! But rest assured, next phone... will be a smart phone.

For the people who do not even know what a 'dumbphone' is

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