https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/361728
There are three lines in this article that stand out for me and serve as a jumping off point.
- “how teachers and students try to adapt to a distance education that is here to stay….. However, this is the beginning of a new Era in education, because 5G is going to go even further, providing the necessary bandwidth capacity to deploy high-tech content from anywhere, anytime. “
- “5G will pave the way for smarter (and remote) classrooms based on mixed reality learning platforms.”
- “5G could serve as a bridge between augmented reality and real-life classrooms for all ages. Lifelong learning could reach new levels of productivity with holographic instructors and concepts that emerge from textbooks and videos and become immediate reality.”
As a DL teacher, I am seeing first hand the positive experiences my families are having. Families that were wanting to try something else for a while and the pandemic was the final push they needed.
I am seeing students who are totally thriving in a learning environment outside of brick and mortar.
I am wondering, how can I/we take this one step further? What role does 5G and mobile learning have in taking education further in this direction?
How does 5G help us arrive at a “School of One” with frictionless, on demand, quality learning? And how do students find the others, so that they have the local (school of one) and the global (school of many)? Your phone is now your classroom and your classroom is wherever, whenever.
Toby, I enjoyed reading this article as well. Your “School of One” idea is interesting, and definitely a possibility for the future with 5G. But I believe that brick and mortar schools will still be needed by many students.
I work with a population of elementary students who have very little support at home, limited access to technological devices, and diverse learning challenges. During the past months, as they have been forced into at-home learning, many have not done any schooling at all, and others have participated to varying degrees. Some are also experiencing mental health challenges due to isolation and family issues. I see these students as opposite to the ones you describe, in many ways. They need school for so much more than just learning, and I think it is so important to remember this when we start considering schools of the future.
5G will bring more options for education. Students and their families will be able to choose a path that works for them, and this can only be a good thing.
This article is very inspiring! I like the idea of School of One when 5G is on the way. I have recently read many research and books talking about the key difference between 4G and 5G, and also reasons why 5G is needed even when investment into 4G has not been returned enough. Combined with this article, I realized that actually, 5G provides a possibility of connecting everything simultaneously without delays while giving each thing an ID. With that School of One (SoO) concept becomes possible.
Not only SoO is setting a learning environment for learners, but also SoO is to include all environments into the learning experience. I can imagine that with 5G, learners scratching a design while printing the partial design from 3D printers, and meanwhile teachers could facilitate the process remotely. SoO also involves families into the learning journey and embrace family environment. 5G might make everything and every moment a learning journey.
Hi Toby!
Thanks for the article. I am liking these 5G posts as I come from a place where high speed doesn’t exist and cell service is spotty – and it’s not that remote! (just a few km out of Lumby BC). So when I read your article and watch the video that Brittany posted, it gives me hope that 5G may actually make a reliable connection for everyone a reality! I know many kids that would also thrive in a DL environment at home, but they just don’t have the access they need. Luckily our schools give the option to complete DL courses within the school, but that provides a very different experience than at home learning would.
As a Foods teacher I loved having my classes at home trying out new recipes and techniques. My focus needed to shift from giving a specific recipes that all students would prepare in class, to giving lessons on techniques or categories of recipes, where students would find a recipe to make based on what they had available at home. If we were to take it one step further and have some AR/VR capabilities, we could show students even more intricate techniques and allow them to have a better understanding of where their food comes from.
So much to look forward too!