Dave,

You have a very interesting list of items. However, they all seem to be related to the cause/effect of technology changes. I feel that technology is the “sexy” topic in education and it is easy to get “whisked away” and leave out core elements that truly drive and limit the scope of technology implementations.

I personally feel [1] structure (standards, daily schedules, mission statements, composition of curriculum, staffing, ect), [2] evaluation (standards, testing for educational progress), [3] government controls (funding, policies, programs, expectations) play a very large role in education.

I took a quick glance at the iN2015 PDF that was linked and it also listed major categories of Trends to include: Political/Government, Economic, Social. I feel that these items also need to be addressed within the title of “Futures of Education.”

In the United States, Education K-12 as well as Higher Ed is (3) suffering huge budget cuts from the government. K-12 programs are losing licensed teachers, arts/music/sports programs are being cut, special education for children with additional needs are at risk, teaching assistants are losing positions, administration positions like vice principals are being reduced or eliminated in some schools (one example of many: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-jim-taylor/the-travesty-of-education_b_498653.html). Higher Ed is having to adjust professor salaries, cut scholarships and grants, implement department and college-level cutbacks. These funding/spending changes will drastically alter the ability of schools to make “bonus” additions of technology implementations on all different levels.

The United States also (2) poorly evaluates the success of K-12 schools and teachers teachers. They give students standardized tests to measure the performance of the school (interesting opinion: http://lilysblackboard.org/2010/03/nclb-science-of-making-up-stuff/). Then, they turn around and use the same results to evaluate the performance of teachers. In reality, they put the hardest students with the highest needs into the classrooms with the best teachers. Students with the best test scores are in classrooms with the worst teachers. The results of these “standardized” outcomes is terribly misleading. Unfairly evaluating instructors cripples makes Education an unattractive field and only stands to hurt the student in the long run.

The structure of a school and a school system (1) has actually shown to have some of the largest affects on outcomes in K-12 schools. Class sizes, parental involvement, community involvement are all structural factors that play into performance. Some schools have even altered and restructured the traditional model to yield interesting results. The KIPP programs (http://www.kipp.org/) which have been known to extend the amount of time kids spend in school, and extending schooling into the summer (American students typically take 3 full months off in the summer before advancing to the next grade level) have shown to increase student performance (http://www.givewell.net/united-states/education/top-charities/KIPP). Also, Magnet Schools (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnet_school) are becoming an interesting trend. Locally in Indianapolis, IN – USA, one township is converting all of their elementary schools to charter Magnets where students will get to attend a themed school after arts or environmental science (http://www.indy.com/posts/an-all-magnet-approach).

While technology can change the way we interact, I believe that the largest changes in education will be felt from modifications to structure, evaluation models, and government funding.

Best of luck with your class and thanks for sharing your work publicly. I hope everyone has a positive experience!
-Mark