A couple of decades ago, we saw science fiction films and television series which made us consider what it would be like to live in the future. Those movieswere replete with live video conferencing, electronic data pads, nanites and wireless communication devices, and we imagined what it would be like to live in such a time.

A couple of decades ago, we saw science fiction films and television series which made us consider what it would be like to live in the future. Those movieswere replete with live video conferencing, electronic data pads, nanites and wireless communication devices, and we imagined what it would be like to live in such a time.

Yet far too often we forget that everything around us represents a process of evolution. Our cars replaced the wagon, which itself replaced the horse. Buildings started out as houses, and those replaced cabins, which were an upgrade on huts, or even caves.

Progress has a habit of creeping up on us unnoticed, and before we know it, what we consider the norm is altered to something altogether different. Just consider the journey of recorded films from reels all the way to Blue Ray, how many stages did it pass through? And didn’t each stage – VHS, Laser Disc, Video CD, DVD – become the “norm” for a certain period?

Those changes sometimes come in gradual steps, and sometimes in spectacular leaps. It has been centuries since the printing press replaced handwritten scrolls, which replaced writing on leather, papyrus, even carved tablets. And today, with the advent of technologies such as Kindle and the iPad, we could very well be seeing the dawn of a new era, one where books are obsolete and everything you ever wanted to read could be found on the hard drive of a small tablet, much like the aforementioned data pads. Video conferencing is now not only viable, but used regularly by schools, universities and a myriad of other professions across the globe. Nanites, albeit a more primitive version than their fictitious counterparts, have already been tested. We’ve even explored the surface of Mars with probes.

Perhaps we may not yet be at the stage where a drastic change is imminent, but developments indicate it’s not too far off. Take the example of major books publishers which are already signing deals for software to adapt their material to digital readers: the key players in the industry are preparing themselves for the inevitable, and it’s time for the rest of us to follow suit.

The truth is, the future we imagined is here, and its implications to education will be tremendous. So what you have to ask yourself is the following: Will you resist the unstoppable locomotive of change rushing down the tracks, or will you hop on board and be a part of the next era in learning?

By Ave Tavoukjian