What Does a Classroom Look Like in 2050?

That is the challenge that The University of Texas at Brownsville will be tackeling when it becomes a stand alone university in 2015.  Listening to the conversation among  group members who are charged with charging ahead with faculty racing ahead to create this new venture, I felt just like when I was on my first date on the first five minutes.  Daunting, fun, scary, exhausting, challenging, exciting, electrifying.

It was actually very much like going back to the 1960's when education was an exciting adventure of independent study, meeting with faculty to discuss and solve the problems of the world and parties of peers discussing world issues.  We are going to do that, but add a new, sparkling component, technology.

What do I see?  Faculty becoming more important to the learning experience.  Students coming and studying in environments, not classrooms with desks, chairs and bottoms firmly anchored to the floor. Work, discussion and study sessions hours long; courses running 24 hours for three weeks.  Students meeting on the beach to learn ecology and biology, finance classes in the environment of the New York Stock Exchange and medical technology students working in a real lab that is conducting experiments for industry.

We will be reporting as we take this journey into the future to create a model for innovation in teaching!

One of the most talked about teaching style is the Flipped Classroom.  While you are waiting to hear more about UTB 2.0, read this blog that gives you 33 tips on flipping your classroom.