The Classroom in 5 Years

Times are changing. We are at a pivotal point in history. So much of our society will be different in the coming years. Certainly, technology will change. I believe that technology will become more accessible to the general public. Classrooms will have more and more technology in them. After being in a few different classrooms this semester, I can see how much classrooms have changed within the last 5-10 years. I know for certain, that they will continue to change in the next 5. Just how chalk boards are a thing of the past, overheads now are, and I think that white boards will become obsolete as well. Document cameras and interactive boards are up and coming. More and more schools have them in every classroom. Technology does make teaching easier, especially with this gerneration of students. However, there is a large margin for problems. How many times have you gone to use some technological device for a presentation or just or fun on your own and it won't work? It can be very frustrating. In the classroom, though, when you are using technology for a lesson and it won't work, you then have 20 some youngsters starring at you, attention span waining. Technology should be a first choice for teaching, but you should always have a technology-free back-up. I don't know if the role of teahers will change in the coming years. I hope a teacher's role always is to teach, encourage, inspire, and guide. How teachers do that may change, but their role should always remain the same.