Classroom for the future

I must admit that this is a difficult task for me to imagine. I am on a campus where I have only one computer in my classroom and a projector that was assigned to after attending a professional development. (I must use my personal laptop to show presentations on it) There is one Smart board on campus that is used by the math department. With that being stated, the classroom that I envision has all the bells and whistles.


Laptops will be made available to all students in every classroom. Their textbooks will be online and when they do homework they will be able to log into them from home. For students who suffer from ailments that keep them out of school, video conferencing will be made available to them through webcams. No longer will they have to miss instruction directly from their teacher. Also, due to distance education students who choose to study foreign languages will have them made available to do so.

As for the educator delivery of lessons will be changed immensely. I see video conferencing capabilities available for every classroom. Video creation and editing will be a staple for every classroom as well. Educators are always looking for ways to expand upon lessons/projects; video will be a key component to doing so especially with the usage of ‘flip’ styled camcorders. A classroom of the future will need to have this equipment available. Educators will need to be able to podcast as a means of make-up work among other things. Websites are a must for every teacher; they are an open line of communication with parents, students, and administrators. The capability of what a website can provide for students outside of the classroom is endless.

Parents would also have to become a part of this classroom as well. Going online to view progress reports at their leisure is only scratching the surface of the possibilities. By having access to their student’s classroom website parents can view graded work, announcements, and upcoming assignments/projects. Many working parents would appreciate having teacher or POD conferences with via webcam instead of coming up to the school to find out how their child is doing. (so would the teachers) By implementing these tools for the classroom of the future I am sure it would be quite costly initially. But with the need for students to be college/world ready these changes are a prerequisite to arming them for their future.