{"id":258,"date":"2026-10-12T17:13:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T00:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru312\/?p=258"},"modified":"2026-10-12T17:44:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T00:44:51","slug":"reflecting-on-2035-what-happens-to-the-learner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru312\/reflecting-on-2035-what-happens-to-the-learner\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflecting on 2035: What happens to the learner?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Image created using: AI Image Generator (free, no sign-up, unlimited)<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the world is currently experiencing immense technological, economic, political, and environmental change, I remain cautiously optimistic about the future. As I continue to work through the course readings, I keep returning to the question, “What happens to the learner?” Closely connected to that question is, “What happens to the educator?” While technology and AI will undoubtedly continue to transform education, the human need for connection suggests that relationships, mentorship, and community will remain central to meaningful learning experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My emerging vision of education in 2035 aligns with Veletsianos et al.’s (2024) call for educational technology scholarship that is “imaginative,” hopeful, and centered on justice-oriented perspectives. Rather than viewing technology as something that will replace educators, I see it as a tool that can expand opportunities for learning while also introducing new challenges that require thoughtful educational design and strong digital literacy skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More specifically, middle school learners in 2035 will likely live in a world where technology is embedded in work, communication, and daily life. However, as Selwyn (2021) argues, educational technology should be valued not for efficiency alone but for its ability to genuinely support learning in ways that would otherwise not be possible. This perspective has shifted my thinking toward a future where successful educational technology is not defined by how much of it we use, but by how effectively it supports inclusion, accessibility, equity, and meaningful human learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Footnote:<\/strong> Copilot was used to refine the language in the final draft. All concepts and ideas are my own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selwyn, N. (2021). Ed-tech within limits: Anticipating educational technology in times of environmental crisis. E-Learning and Digital Media, 18(5), 496-510. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/20427530211022951<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veletsianos, G., Houlden, S., Ross, J., Sakinah, A., & Dickson-Deane, C. (2024). Higher education futures at the intersection of justice, hope, and educational technology. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 21, Article 39. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s41239-024-00475-0<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Image created using: AI Image Generator (free, no sign-up, unlimited) While the world is currently experiencing immense technological, economic, political, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":328,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lrnt523"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru312\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru312\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru312\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru312\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/328"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru312\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru312\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":263,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru312\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258\/revisions\/263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru312\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru312\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru312\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}