Any flat surface
Apr 18th, 2009 by Cathy Jo Nelson
I shared this with a group of 8th graders I mentor (my “advisory”) when it first came out. Their task before watching was to predict what computers or other technologies they use would look like when they are in college (roughly 5-10 years from now). They were paired and told to list ideas in a 2 minute time frame. We then came back together as a small group of fifteen and I read off their lists (not duplicating ideas.) Our kids had a good laugh at the outrageous ideas some came up with, but most included the thoughts that computers would continue to reduce in size. The funniest but most repeated idea was the use of holograms to digitally 
attend events. The most far fetched was the idea that people might be able to warp speed travel or use a digital transporter and be “beamed” from one place to another instantly, like the Star Trek crew. (Yes I guess there was a trekkie in the bunch.)
When thinking of your future, what will be your playground?
After watching the video, the discussion was about when and where one could buy the neckware. They were very excited about the potential. I was hoping some of these same kids would want to perhaps go to MIT and jump in the playground of futuristic tools. I shared this link too, saying that MIT freely posts audio and some video lectures from their courses.
Yours for the taking NOW
Will any of these kids visit MIT virtually? Who knows. My goal in this short advisory time was two-fold–show them a glimpse of the future (the video) and share that they could actually be a part of the development of the future (college–>MIT).
Image: ‘To Boldly Go‘
www.flickr.com/photos/29498428@N00/3239655804
That’s a fascinating video. I’m thinking of using it to get my teachers thinking about the world that our students will inherit.