Technology in Learning

In the US and UK, recent research anticipates that jobs in education are going to be high demand in the year 2030. But, teaching and learning won’t look the same as it does today.

Although these teachers were not teaching in international schools, we felt they had a lot to say about the future of technology in learning, projecting their comments to their profession in 2030. 

Barbara LaSaracina, New Jersey’s state Teacher of the Year in 2001, says: “I think we’re going to see the infusion of more and more technology.”

Heidi Welch, New Hampshire’s Teacher of the Year in 2013, adds this: “With all of the technology, I hope that it does not remove the personalization and personality from education.”

Elizabeth Primas, D.C.’s Teacher of the Year in 2000, imagined looking back in time in 2030 and realizing that technology “was no more a replacement for the teacher than the typewriter was a replacement for the teacher – it’s a tool for servicing the needs of the children.”

Barbara LaSaracina agrees: “Do I ever think technology’s going to take the place of a human being in the room? No.”

A Respected Profession

Elizabeth Primas imagines a time when “teachers are finally respected for the professionals they are” – even though the profession is changing.

“I think teachers are evolving just like our children are evolving,” she says. “They’ll need to know technology – so they can pull off data immediately and have it accessible to them rather than waiting two months or three months for a test to come back from some place way off in the clouds.”

Barbara LaSaracina adds: “To make a really joyful classroom and looking ahead, 13, 15, 20 years from now, will it look very different from today? Yes. But will it still have aspects and components of what has always been a great classroom? It’s going to have those too – and I think it needs to have those.”