2024 Bold Predictions in Ed Tech

I know it’s a little late for this as it is already February, but I needed the month of January to inspire me before I dipped my toe back into the proverbial waters of prediction-land. Since 2013, I’ve spent some time reflecting on the past and looking ahead toward the future. Last year, I had one of my most successful years yet with more than half my predictions coming true. (check out the review here). This year, it’s tempting just to have AI come up with the predictions, but let’s be honest, AI isn’t that great…yet.

That didn’t stop me from asking ChatGPT for 5 “bold” predictions for the upcoming year in the world of ed tech. The answers ranged from bland (more personalized learning..yay!) to interesting (Blockchain for Education Credentials…I like this concept). However, if you’ve ever worked with AI you know it doesn’t think outside the box well. So while AI does play a role in some of my predictions for this year, they are all generated with human intelligence (or lack there of). So without further ado, here’s my 2024 bold predictions in ed tech (and beyond).

AI will influence the 2024 election

Let’s go ahead and get the softball out of the way. I’ve been trumpeting this (pun not intended) for the past several months. We all can recall how social media played a role in the 2016 election, and well, here we are again. We’ve already seen an early incident with the Biden fake robocall in New Hampshire, I can’t even imagine the deep fakes we’ll be seeing leading up to November 5th. Here’s hoping we teach the kids AND grown-ups around us some digital literacy before then.

A student will get suspended for deep faking

Speaking of deep fakes, the technology out there is getting better and better for mimicking someone talking on video. I was playing around the other day with HeyGen (now integrated with Adobe) and could see how easily someone could fake being another person and make them say whatever they wanted. The good news is, tools like this have some safeguards in place (like you have to have a video confirmation for acceptance of use). That said, I’m almost 100% positive before the end of this semester some student will deep fake a teacher or principal using AI. Check out my HeyGen example below (complete with different languages!)

The 3D printed diet becomes a fad

This idea may not be as bold as you think. Last year I stumbled across this video of an Australian company that took the idea of puree/juicing certain food types and then “feeding” that through a 3D printer. What if you could create cookies made out of carrots? Or a cupcake that is actually made out of spinach? While this would be a very limited audience, I can see a future where we order our meal with the right amount of nutrients and just send it to the printer before supper.

Hologram technology will mean the end of absences

Our schools shut down for a pandemic and snow days and we figured out how to work around that remotely. However, the random student absence is still an issue. And with the shortage of subs, teacher absences are also a problem. Enter in the amazing technology behind Holoconnects. It was debuted at CES this past month and could be the future of video calls and the end of sick days. Just spin up your hologram and teach the kids remotely! Here’s a highlight reel of it’s usage:

Travis and Taylor will get married

I had to mix it up a little bit here as there is too much AI and fancy tech talk already in these predictions. Let’s go bold and say that we’ll have the U.S. equivalent to the royal wedding, or at least when David Beckham married Posh Spice. This all presumes that Travis wins the Super Bowl and he proposes after the game. No pressure Kelce!

The “AI cheating” dilemma gets solved

In my talks around the country around AI, there are still many professors and teachers freaking out about students cheating using AI. However, while they attack the tool, they fail to address the motivation behind why kids cheat. We value the final product in education over the process, which is a major weakness when it comes to student evaluation. But how do we know the students are doing the work they are doing? How do we capture the process beyond a rubric? There are some amazing new tools coming out like Learnics that actually empower the learner to track their own progress as part of their final project. Teachers can set an expectation of time spent on a project and students elect when to capture their own process. AI can be used for cheating on a final product, but it can’t be used to cheat the learning process.

Apple Vision Pro Changes VR Experiences…for the worse

Recently, I’ve had a handful of friends message me about their Apple Vision Pro (MSRP – $3499) and have relayed how mind blowing the spatial computing component is. I have a decent-sized monitor to do my creative design work already, but apparently this can give you a 9′ screen floating in space. Yes, it’s a game changer. Yes, it’s pretty incredible. But my prediction is that it will hurt virtual reality in the short term. The truth is, only a select few can afford the device and while it does have some creative benefits, I remember tools like the hand-gesture mouse or the projectable keyboard being cool for a half-a-minute before people went to more tried and true methods. Face-timing with the AVPs is supposed to be incredible as well, but again, you’d have to have lots of friends with one to make it really powerful. I don’t usually make a negative prediction, but I see the hype cycle on these dying out in the next couple of months and a rush of companies creating 3rd party knock-off versions at a tenth of the price.

AI will help my latest book land on Audible

I usually like to mix in some predictions that cause me to blackmail myself, this one falls in that category. I’ve been toying around with ElevenLabs voice cloning platform and think it has a pretty decent version of my voice and intonation. So why not upload my entire Learning Evolution book on there and have it exported as a sound file with my voice? This could save me from having to spend days recording and editing only to get nearly the same outcome. Since the book is ABOUT utilizing AI for learning, might as well put words into action…er…sound.

New AI wearable becomes a Black Mirror episode

I reference the Netflix show Black Mirror quite often on my blogs. The dystopian not-so-distant future drama. In a season one episode titled “The Entire History of You” , people have the ability to rewind and watch their day from their own eyes. These can then be replayed on big screens for others to see. The AI Pin from Hu.ma.ne looks like a cool concept, but similarly, the wearable can record your day and then play it back for you on a little mini-projector. There are some cool hand gestures (see previous post) that could help with productivity and allow us to be more present without phones or expensive VR goggles. But in the end, I don’t think the current version offers enough to be anything more than a cool parlor trick. Not to mention how it could essentially become a human Ring camera. Kind of reminds me of those human replay Progressive commercials…

The Bammys come back and I’m the host

Watching the Grammys last night I realized I’ve always been a fan of a good awards show. Back in 2015, the final “Bammys” award show took place. It was education’s version of the Grammys and I was just getting my start in the blogosphere when they stopped happening. I’ve done a lot of work with the amazing producers at BAM Radio Network who hosted the event including being a part of a new documentary they created (called Blindsided by AI). Now is the time to will the Bammys back into existence and as long as I’m wishing, why not make me the host?

I’m going to cut my predictions off here as I’m already a month late, but I do have a handful more so let me throw these in at the end without explanation:

Honorable Mention Predictions:

• KarAIoke becomes a fad (blog to follow soon explaining this)
• My children’s book will finally launch with an assist from AI image generation
• Adam Phyall releases his new book
• School boards fight back against book bans
• AI invents a hit #1 TV show

Here’s to 2024 and hoping a few of these come right (and some don’t).