The Changing Role of Educators

As was stated in the question we are to answer, technology is constantly changing the ways in which teachers and students interact. In the Classroom of the Future®, teachers will, I feel, always play a vital role. No matter how much technology advances, there will always be a need for those who do the actual education. The role of the educator, as I see it, it primarily to guide and direct the educational process through all means at their disposal. Direct instruction, group activities, self-guided instruction, etc.

As technology advances, I believe that we will see changes, but I feel that they will by cyclical in nature. Right now, we are seeing the rise of distance education, and due to technological limitations, we are also seeing a shift towards students pacing themselves and working through their classes asynchronously from both their educator and their fellow students.

As technology continues to advance and we are able to visually interact in real-time over networked connections, I think that the role of the educator will move back to something closer to the way it is now: synchronous. The biggest difference is that the classroom will likely be a virtual one, with the teacher and students all occupying vastly different physical spaces.

Ultimately, though the role of the educator in relation to growing technology will change, I do not think it will ever disappear.