Several people are credited with authorship of the phrase "It’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future". It is nevertheless possible to estimate changes that will affect the teaching and learning landscapes in the near future. Among various other topics that might be considered in this context, cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) represent a reasonably safe bet as examples that will have significant disruptive effects. These technologies are now challenging established organizational paradigms in many areas, with immediate effects well known to the general public through autonomous driving vehicles or cashier-free stores. New generations of digital assistants supporting voice user interface (VUI) are already transforming the way we address a variety of everyday tasks — e.g. personal assistants like Alexa, or more recently Google Duplex, which is already being used in most parts of the US to book appointments. AI agents will undoubtedly invade an increasing number of activities serving large numbers of people, and we may of course ask ourselves if the AI avatar introduced in the end of 2018 by a Chinese TV station to replace their human pivot is not a prelude to teachers being selectively replaced by AI agents in a variety of teaching situations. Examples of the use of AI to provide online tutoring are not scarce, and the introduction of low-cost “AI as a Service” platforms will certainly enable the development of sophisticated learning scenarios where VUI and AI are combined to provide 24/7 online tutoring with a human-look-alike touch.
Difficult as it may be to predict the impact of cloud and AI in education, one thing is certain — it will reinforce the trend to increase learning autonomy, and bring the classroom to wherever the learner is located at any moment. We will move further away from plenary classes where all students are treated alike in spite of their different learning profiles, and closer to student-centered teaching and learning models. This trend is particularly important because it highlights a vision of future learning environments that blur the distinction between on-campus and online activities.
The ubiquitous classroom presented in this document is not using AI yet, but it uses the cloud to support a blended learning model where online and on-campus activities merge seamlessly. More importantly, AI will be a disruptive technology for a variety of teacher-centered models that are yet too common, but it may combine graciously with the technical backstage of the ubiquitous classroom — not to replace the teacher, but rather to extend his reach by reinforcing the perception of presence and support.
Final note: Further to the appendices already referred in the previous sections, a list of curriculum vitae entries associated to my educational activities is presented in appendix #11, and an "About me" page accompanying this document in appendix #12.
Read next — Appendices