Le Prof Le Prof - TEACH Magazine

A TEACH MAGAZINE PUBLICAT I O N MAR / APR 2001 ISSUE PAGE 1 8
are becoming more mobile than ever given that many of
our information needs can be fed to us without wires virtually
anywhere in the world. A recent Arctic expedition
kept in touch with their supporters via email and posted
their progress on the Internet through satellite access via
notebook computers that employed batteries that were
recharged using energy from solar panels. The panels, in
conjunction with special batteries provided enough
power for the computers throughout the expedition. All
of this means that information is now accessible anywhere
and anytime.
In a previous series of teaching units we developed, we
broached the idea of a future society and how to develop
one in The Past, Present and Future of Communications.
Let us refer you to the unit on The Future of
Communications (soon to be posted at this web address:
w w w. s c h o o l n e t . c a / t e a c h) where you can go through
the exercise with your students of designing your future
society in part, by examining existing societal models.
Then, it is possible to think about the needs and requirements
of the citizens of that society and what products
and services they may want.
This lesson plan is intended as a bit of a departure from
those we normally publish. It won’t be as rigidly structured
and most of it will contain some examples of products
and projects that are actually in the process of being
developed. For much of this, we must thank the Media
Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Te c h n o l o g y
(w w w. m e d i a . m i t . e d u) and some futurist organizations
and Web sites where many of these ideas are being
worked on feverishly by the practitioners there. The listing
of these examples is intended to give you a stimulus
for the development of your own product ideas in conjunction
with your students. We hope it will get you
thinking creatively.
The following curriculum areas are applicable:
Technology/Computers, Media Studies, Language Arts,
Visual Arts, History and Social Studies. This teaching unit
is most appropriate for Grades 4-12. Research tools:
Encyclopedias (hard copy and CD-ROM, Library
R e s o u rces, Books and the Internet.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
❶ Have a basic understanding of how society is structured
and how it functions.
❷ Work toward solving challenges with practical
solutions.
❸ Understand somewhat the technical aspects of
some manufacturing processes.
❹ See the relationship between events in the past,
present and future.
❺ Create, invent and build products for a future
societ y
❻ Enhance socialization by working in teams.
❼ Use critical thinking skills to solve future-world
p r o b l e m s .
Brainstorm
We gather impressions through the information that is
presented to us in the media. If one were to poll a group
of young students who happened to be Star Trek fans
(whichever generation), it wouldn’t be a surprising result
to discover they believed that individuals will have the
ability to transport from one destination to another
instantly through some sort of device. Or at least they
would believe in the likelihood of something like that
being invented in the not too distant future. That’s is not
to say, that only entertainment media is responsible for
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