Things that would be Extinct in Education by 2020

Giant projector-screens now adorn the walls beside blackboards, waiting for educators to catalyze the learning processes with exciting PowerPoint presentations.

Alongside that, e-books grace the modern classroom as the next best alternatives to paperback textbooks.

Also, teachers have started experimenting with various avatars of blended learning to offer something new to students – an education well-endowed with digital technology. So obviously, contemporary education has been taking smart strides towards technological upgradation and a more elegant style of learning.

No wonder educators have begun to rely on Google Docs to send notices to parents bidding farewell to the hand-printed notes of yesteryears, signaling the changing times.

In short, traditional classroom techniques are making room for the ultimate technological renovation with each passing day.

Things to become Obsolete in Education by 2020

Thanks to the ever-escalating pace of technological advancement, education is all set for a complete remodeling. This makes many educators, students and learning communities speculate about the scope of education in the near future.

What learning tactics would be adapted in the learning zones of the 21^st century?

How would students welcome the variegated avenues of technology into their academic lessons?

What kind of teaching techniques would be embraced by teachers to accommodate the learning styles of diverse learners?

How would the classrooms of 2020 appear?

Read on to know about a few things that would be extinct in the field of education by 2020:

#1. Desks

Teachers are known for their constant efforts to arrange desks and chairs into neat rows in their classroom, following a trend of setting them all in front of the teacher’s table. And, yes, of course the great blackboard.

However, modern times have more to offer than a series of desks filling every nook and corner of the classroom.

Teachers are focusing on the most productive ways that would go a long way in maximizing student performance in classroom sessions. Redesigning the classroom space is probably one of them. Teachers are realizing the fact that desks and chairs might not be really beneficial for the diverse student populace in a typical classroom environment.

I will tell you why.

There are certain students who depend on bodily movements to memorize lessons or analyze essential information in academics. Popularly termed as kinesthetic learners, they always require flexible seating arrangements!

By 2020, you can expect to witness redesigned classrooms devoid of traditional desks.

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#2. Language Labs

Are you bored of your monotonous language lessons at school, locked up in the language lab for hours trying to master French, German or Spanish? You are seated with your notebook, as your foreign language teacher teach you important pronunciations.

And hardly are you 20 minutes into your session when you start getting frustrated!

Staring at computers trying to translate English into a foreign language can prove to be an uphill task for several students. Moreover, why would you waste your time with a diary and desktop when you can enjoy your foreign language lessons with the aid of technology?

For instance, online courses like ‘Duolingo’ teach Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French and other foreign languages.

Apart from them, students can also explore some websites like ‘Livemocha’, ‘Verbling’ or ‘Busuu’ for mastering languages. ‘Quizlet’, ‘Antiweb’ and ‘Memrise’ are some other websites that do a wonderful task in this regard.

I can already foresee the days when these online resources would replace traditional foreign language teaching tools in the academic environment.

#3. Computers

Come on, we all know computers are at the blink of extinction at the earliest!

We live in a digital age that is dominated by a world of smartphones, iPads, tablets, laptops and other cool electronic gadgets. Students are accustomed to swipe their iPod or tablet screens to surf various websites or utilize different sorts of ‘apps’ for the purpose of learning.

I have also come across pupils who love reading e-books on their favorite electronic devices, communicating with their peers and teachers through Google Circles or working on their assignments in Google Drive.

Students who continue to believe in the good old computer, are indeed scanty.

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Mobile learning is here to take the world by storm and before long, every classroom is going to be filled with mobile devices. Youngsters are already quite fond of this type of technology. The day is not far when they would end up depending on mobile learning to prepare for their exams.

#4. Homework

You are glued to your iPads 24*7.

If it’s possible to check Twitter notifications on the move, it is certainly possible to learn Physics definitions while travelling to and from School or University. In addition, it’s also possible to revise some Math formulas or solve equations with ‘Photomath’ on the go.

So, why do you really need to do it as your home assignment?

Thanks to several platforms of technology, you enjoy unlimited access to a vast pool of knowledge across the web. Therefore the concept of making students complete assignments at home, in order to assess the understanding of students is on its way to becoming redundant very soon.

And trust me, this is definitely good news for most students who are reading this blog, isn’t it?

From now, students can revise their lessons, study their notes and memorize definitions in a hassle-free way!

#5. Paperbacks

The alarm bells are ringing, dear friends. Be prepared to say ‘Au revoir’ to your paperbacks before you suddenly find yourself surrounded only by e-books everywhere!  Do you remember there was a time when young adolescents were gradually losing their reading habits?

Technology, when it first arrived, seemed to threaten the reading habits of students and youngsters.

However, modern technology has infinite possibilities. Now you can read any novel, essay, poetry, plays or any other literary creation in the form of digital books, known as e-books. You can highlight portions of the text you are reading, bookmark pages or even download your preferred e-books in your devices.

Fascinating, truly it is indeed!

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Even today I observe school teachers adhering to textbooks while explaining lessons to students inside a classroom. But, by 2020, classrooms will undergo a pleasant makeover with paperbacks becoming obsolete in learning scenarios.

#6. One-Size-Fits-All Classroom Lectures

Flexibility would replace rigidity in terms of classroom strategies.

In simpler terms, teachers who are yet to figure out unique lesson plans to customize lessons for every kind of learner in the classroom would be jobless in 2020! A typical classroom might be home to a wide variety of learners some of whom might be visual, auditory, solitary or kinesthetic.

Ideal teachers customize their teaching techniques with an aim to meet the requirements of all kinds of learners.

The key is to ‘differentiate instruction’ to make the learning processes more student-friendly and exciting for the pupils in classrooms. You also need to address students with different learning disabilities, motivating them to strive for excellence in academics and extra-curricular activities.

Inspire them to be creative in more ways than one. And do not forget to celebrate their success.

Teachers who fail to tailor-make their lessons for all kinds of students would become extinct by 2020, trust me.

#7. Parent-Teacher Meetings

Parent-teacher meetings are time consuming, aren’t they?

Teachers are required to send notices to parents for arranging such meetings, and at times it really turns out to be pretty challenging. That is because, certain students forget to show the notices to parents.

Teachers can easily communicate the learning loopholes of students to their parents over social networking sites and other digital platforms.

Be it through Facebook groups and communities, Google circles or Twitter chats, teachers absolutely would confront no issues getting their messages across to parents.

These are some of the important things that would be obsolete in the next five years. It’s high time you teach yourself some technology skills to survive in a world obsessed with technology!