Dick Pelletier wrote a fun piece on the near future of education, built from computer-based technologies most people are already familiar with.  He writes: These sophisticated new computers will understand ordinary everyday spoken words in English, Spanish, Chinese, or any major language, and will use avatars – on-screen images that could appear as Einstein, Columbus, [...]

Note: Education Futures is on winter break and will return on January 7. 2007 has been a banner year for Education Futures, with expansions in the range of content and participation. First and foremost, I would like to thank the guest bloggers and other contributors that shared their thoughts and expertise this year: Cristóbal Cobo [...]

Australia’s Computerworld jumps on the futures bandwagon, and provides insight into the 21st century (in stark contrast to what others are writing on the future). In an interview with British Telecom futurist Ian Pearson, a few daring predictions emerged: 1. “Thinking” is going to seem very alien to many people: We will probably make conscious [...]

…from the New York Times: In November, you’ll be able to buy a new laptop that’s spillproof, rainproof, dustproof and drop-proof. It’s fanless, it’s silent and it weighs 3.2 pounds. One battery charge will power six hours of heavy activity, or 24 hours of reading. The laptop has a built-in video camera, microphone, memory-card slot, [...]

A great blog, Paleo-Future, has emerged over the past couple months. The site provides “a look into the future that never was” –often for good reason. Here’s one: Bill Gates’ vision of the future classroom. Matt writes: The paleo-future of 1995 is filled with ethnically diverse students academically engaged by the high-tech presentations of their [...]