Technology Takes Over Education by Kaylee

Technology Takes Over Education by Kaylee - May 2020 Scholarship Essay

The world right now is in a unique state as it combats the coronavirus pandemic. Schools all over the world have been trying to develop effective ways of learning online while it is not possible to be IN school. In my own personal experience, this has been a struggle because at home there are all the temptations of television, phone, food, outdoor extracurriculars, etc. I have found it is quite difficult to focus on any schoolwork I might have for the day while being in the comfort of my home. However, the reason for this is that providing courses online full-time is new to many educators and the process of finding a system that works in the long term had not been done yet for most schools. Students are not used to this system of learning and so, the quick transition from in-person to online has been messy.

This may relate to how I predict education will function in the next 50 years. With increased innovations in technology, these devices will continue to work their way into the education system. For example, when the computer was first invented, it was only available to the wealthy, and now a majority of people in the United States have some form of access to one. In my own county, schools have been distributing chromebooks to each student for use during the school day and at home. The intent for this was to provide each student with access to online resources and classwork during the entirety of the school year. If this is the next step for education right now, I can only imagine what other technology they will implement into learning in the next 50 years.

My guess for the implementation of technology into education in the next 50 years is that every student will have their own laptop of their own purchase. I also believe that there will not be any more paper. Assessments and projects will most likely be completely technology based with programs to prevent cheating. AP Exams and SATs/ACTs will likely be online but given in neutral locations so that screens may be monitored. These changes may seem drastic to students now, but this very well may be the "norm" for the students of the future. Just think, the grandkids of this current generation will be learning in ways we never would have thought possible. I mean, for goodness sake, our parents and grandparents grew up having to conduct research by going to the library and looking through tons of books; which took an extremely long time.

Our world is changing day by day and we probably do not even see it. Education already looks drastically different from what it was when our parents were kids. If innovation in technology continues to accelerate as it has been, then I do believe the majority of the education system will be technology based. I do hope that I live the next 50 years to see the changes that our world will go through.