Back in 2019, many speculated, predicted or forecasted what ‘the future’ would bring. When we speak of technology in ‘the future’ we entertain possibilities, we use ideas to try and understand the now and what people want and do not want in the future. Therefore in the narratives to follow we will not imagine how everything ‘should’ be but rather how things ‘could be’ (Dunne, Raby). Using my own imagination with very little self imposed limitations I will narrate 2 speculative narratives that today may seem plausible, but I’d like to think perhaps they should in the least be critiqued and/or considered.

Speculative Narrative #1  The Year 2050

April 20th 2050, in the most southern city in Canada, a young adolescent named Khloe sits in her dorm room class waiting for the rest of her classmates to arrive and for the first bell to ring. Today is the day Provincial testing for 7th graders starts province wide. Khloe’s teachers have been reviewing testing material with the class for several weeks now and the class in general believe they are well prepared for the task. Although the provincial testing of students aims to not only assess a students academic performance but also the quality of education in each school.

Since a very young age, Khloe has suffered with periods of moderate anxiety. She has learned through therapy how to identify her triggers and how to best address them when she starts to notice signs of an anxiety episode. Khloe still struggles to identify her own signs from time to time but has managed well for someone of her age. It is now 9am, the bell has rung and the home room teacher places a white paper booklet face down in front of each student with specific instructions not to begin until advised to do so.

This is the trigger moment, Khloe begins to feel intense fear and her heart begins to race. She knows what is happening and she knows she must say something to her teacher, but its testing day, will the teacher allow her the accommodations she needs. All Khloe thinks about is how she needs 10-15 minutes outside of the classroom to regain her normal heart rate and put into practice her coping skills. Khloe hesitates to speak up, thinking perhaps the teacher will say no because of the testing restrictions.

While she opens the paper booklet, Khloe is beginning to feel nauseated from her rapid breathing and general overall feeling of anxiety.  At the teachers desk, the computer monitor picks up on an alert coming from Khloe personal AI microchip. A chip Khloe had implanted at the age of 4 when her anxiety disorder was first diagnosed. The alert tells the teacher that there is unusual heightened activity in Khloe’s sympathetic nervous system, specifically in the region of her amygdala. Due to the teachers previous experience with Khloe’s anxiety management, he knows that Khloe is experiencing an anxiety attack, most likely triggered by the testing in class.

Without even speaking aloud to Khloe, the teacher goes over to her and motions for her to follow him into the hallway. He then asks to confirm her mental state and they both agree that it would be best for Khloe to take the next 20-30 minutes to use her coping strategies and once she is ready she can complete the testing booklet sitting in a separate room of her choice.

Thanks to the intelligent AI technology that Khloe carries with her, the situation was addressed without bringing much attention in front of her peers, her needs were met and all the while the micro chip sent a notification to her parents who where then able to phone the school to get an update. Khloe’s family physician also received a short and concise incident report for them to document in her medical file. Khloe successful completed her testing booklet and returned to class that afternoon without any major disruptions. Khloe has experienced a significant decrease in anxiety attacks since she’s been able to comprehend the support system her micro chip provides for her.

Speculative Narrative # 2

It is August 2051. A new teachers college graduate named Wanda is eager to start teaching at her first elementary school. She feels well trained and ready for the task at hand. One week before the start of school, she goes to visit the school, get a tour and attend her first orientation meeting with the principal and other teachers.

Wanda has been assigned to teach a split 1/2 class. Back in 2019 teachers would have one teaching curriculum for all students and would modify this curriculum for students with different needs. All of this would be done manually by the educators and they would have an educational assistant most times in the classroom for these specific students. Being assigned a split class would mean extra work for educators back in 2019. Today in 2051, before the start of each school year each teacher receives the digital profile of each student that contains information from previous academic years of study, what their learning styles are and what specific needs they require. Today Wanda receives the profiles for her 24 students and is able to insert it into sophisticated software that will create a custom learning plan for each child, whether they have needs due to a learning disability or they have demonstrated a higher level of comprehension compared to others, the system will generate a learning plan to ensure that all students are offered the opportunity to learn content that will not only address their challenges but will also target those who are exceeding. The parents will have the opportunity to review their child’s learning plan for the year ahead in order for them to be able to support the student outside of the classroom. Each school day, parents can log in to see what the child learned in school that day. The students log into their own personal device and the progress or lack thereof is tracked for the educators, parents and student to see with full transparency.

While I believe the above scenario to be realistic by the year 2050, it is not to say researchers feel the same. There may be biases present when using predictive analytics of previous academic years of study and it may enhance risks such as safety, privacy and accountability.(Vallor). The tool mentioned above is meant to be an extension of the teacher, not only will they need to know how to use but also when to use it and master all of its capabilities.

“The masters tools will never replace the masters house” (from Leading Lines podcast)

 

References

Dunne, A., & Raby, F. (2013). Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming. Cambridge: The MIT Press. muse.jhu.edu/book/28148.

Leading Lines. Episode 060 – the Future of Digital Literacies   https://soundcloud.com/leadinglines/episode-060-future-of-digital-literacies-faculty-panel

Vallor S. Lessons from the AI Mirror. Santa Clara University Live. on you tube