We are about three weeks away from the beginning of the semester. One of the courses I am teaching is a seminar for incoming students and is entitled Technology, Education, and Learning Institutions in 2025. I’m quite excited about the course. Yet, to look at the future, one has to examine the past and investigate not just what transpired, but also what was anticipated to happen. Technological determinism and hype about the future of education is not a 2012 phenomenon: As Mishra, Koehler, & Kereluik (2009) note, statements regarding technological revolutions can be traced back to 1933. As a way to spark a conversation about past technologies and expectations with my students, I created the image above using quickmeme.com. The power of Internet memes has been quite interesting to me, and humor is a great way to encourage reflection and critical thought.
If you were to add your own caption to a meme to make a point about the future of education, or educational technology in general, what would that look like? I’d love to see your thoughts.