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The Connected World of 2037

INTRODUCTION
Lights, cameras, action! Welcome to the connected world of 2037. Although people look
and speak relatively similar to today, a plethora of changes have occurred. People are learning in
new environments, homes are intuitive, and a global culture is being woven. This paper will
explore how the spheres of education, careers, leisure time, homes, global community, and
informational tools will all be affected over the course of the next 23 years.
EDUCATION
Education in 2037 is going to look vastly different from what we see today. In the K-12
sphere, students will be learning in collaborative, interactive environments. Learning will
become student-focused, rather than teacher-focused, as curriculum centers on inquiry-based
learning, critical thinking skills, and global problem-solving skills. Instead of traditional paper
and pencil assessments, students will be showcasing their knowledge in innovative digital
portfolios. Students will also be involved in gamification and utilizing 3D models to learn more
complex subject matters. Classrooms will be set up differently, with individual desks being
replaced by touch screen workbenches for increased group projects (Kelly, 2013). Along the
walls will be workspaces for cameras, phones, and tablets.
Purcell (2013) noted that 92% of teachers say the Internet has a major impact on their
ability to access content, resources, and materials for their teaching (p. 1); this trend will
increase by 2037. Guided by the nationally accepted and implemented technology standards
created on the foundation of ISTE NETS students will begin their journey with technological
tools in kindergarten, allowing for a solid set of researching, analyzing, and transmedia

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navigation skills by the end of elementary school. No longer will the Internet be seen as
superfluous it will be integral to the learning process. For educators, differentiation on an
individualized level will become a reality as cloud-computing programs (similar to inBloom) do
the difficult work of collecting, aggregating, and analyzing metadata on students. With a simple
click of a button, teachers will be able to pull up individual students and see their comprehensive
work thus far.
Unfortunately, today not all students can progress as rapidly in school because of a lack
of personal tools. Currently only 18% of teachers say all or almost all of their students have
access to digital tools they need at home (Purcell, 2013, p. 1). By 2037, the digital tools used in
the classroom will be more readily available to the public. Companies, realizing the broad
expanse of the market, will work to create technological tools that are significantly cheaper to
produce for the masses (Gohring, 2013). Families in low-income areas will see a leveling in
equality of tools to their higher-income counterparts.
For higher education, there will be a significant increase in online and informal education.
More and more persons will be enrolled in virtual college campuses, which allow them a cheaper
tuition and the flexibility to work while still going to school. Within these virtual campuses,
open-source materials and specially designed syllabi will be used. MOOCs, or Massive Open
Online Courses, will also become the norm. Instead of going to a regimented three-hour lecture
in a classroom, students will log into online portals to view and post their own materials with
classmates globally. Tools such as Khan Academy will grow and be used for learning inside and
outside formal education.
Libraries too will be changing. The buildings themselves will remain, however they will
no longer be filled with rows of books and research materials; most books will be digitized.

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Instead, they will house workspaces with built in charging stations for phones and the latest
versions of tablets. Students will have access to high speed Internet for pouring through libraries
now online databases and troves of eBooks. Videos and music will also be housed online. For
the more innovative library patrons, libraries will also house on-demand book printing machines
available for use by all.

CAREERS
Many of the careers students will be preparing for in 2037 have not yet been invented.
Wagner (2010) broke down future possible careers into three distinct categories: 1) retrofitting new skills in existing jobs, 2) blending combining skills from different jobs and industries, or
3) problem solving solving future issues (p. 30). Within these three categories, people in 2037
will begin to earn a living in space exploration, medical advances, Artificial Intelligences, and
renewable energies, to name a few occupations. Space funding will have increased, allowing old
jobs to be continued, while new jobs involving newer technology to be created. In the medical
field, doctors will have interactive patient digital records and can perform surgeries via robotics
(Saylor, 2012). Artificial Intelligence will be a fast-growing field with robotics on the cusp of
emulating human existence (i.e., conversations, emotions, intelligence). Renewable energies will
become a focus, as homes will have become smart and automobiles entirely off fueldependency. A majority of these individuals will be working from home and performing tasks
via telework.
The skills for these future jobs come back to the aforementioned education systems.
Students need to become proficient in analytical searching, global problem solving, multitasking,
harnessing creativity/innovation, and media literacy. Members of the Project New Media

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Literacies (2008) defined a few of the necessary media literacy tools as judgment, negotiation,
appropriation, play, simulation, collective intelligence, performance, and visualization.
Additionally, networking (on a global level) paired with strategic thinking and synthesizing new
information will help not only to connect workers with colleagues worldwide but also improve
collective intelligence.
LESIURE & HOMES
By 2037, most people will spend their leisure time enjoying virtual worlds. Arcades, and
similar entertainment industry venues, will be replaced with simulation stations. The very rich
will have access to these resources within their own houses. Instead of playing virtual worlds in
a synthetic online format (e.g., Second Life), people will be able to either cognitively plug in
to virtual realities or wear gear that allows them to see into another world, similar to Oculus Rift
(Kurzweil & Kirkpatrick, 2000). These pieces of gear will allow individuals to see, and interact
with, items and other people with a 360-degree view. Individuals can select what type of virtual
world they want to experience, from traveling to another city around the globe to interactive
games.
Homes also will have drastically changed. 2037 will showcase a housing industry that is
smart built and maintained through extensive technological functions. Tools will be
integrated into homes, and commercial buildings in the community, to obtain, process, and
articulate information about ongoing activities. Currently, SmartThings a company that
specializes in home automation and security is a leader on revolutionizing housing. They
create tools that can lock/unlock doors, trigger alarms for unwanted entry, monitor
movement/temperature/activities, and notify homeowners when family members arrive or leave
(SmartThings, n.d.).

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By 2037, these types of systems will not only be commonplace, but more interactive and
intuitive. Doors will unlock with facial or fingerprint recognition, electronics will recognize
owners patterns and appropriate themselves as needed, and all facets of activities and items
within the house will be tracked and linked up to a phone system to notify the owner. A tool
from today that will be popular is the Smart-Grid Fridge, which provides inventory updates on
items stored within it, as well as relevant recipes. Within homes, Artificial Intelligence
operating systems can connect all inhabitants and maintain organization and flow in their busy
lives. Security and peace of mind will all be just a click away.
GLOBAL COMMUNITY
Our global community will be intimately connected by 2037; even citizens of third world
countries will have access to mobile technology devices (Saylor, 2012). People of all ages,
genders, ethnicities, and origins will be communication with each other, creating the fabric for a
semblance of global culture. In schools, students will be blogging with their peers and using
visual communications (similar to Skype) to interact on projects with students worldwide. This
will help build the infrastructure of a foundation for cross-cultural understanding, increasing
peace while decreasing stereotypes. For corporations, realistic 3D video calls will replace
international business trips, creating an ease of communications among organizations in diverse
locations (Osborne, 2013). Local businesses will go digital and be able to provide some items
and services faster than online sources to their customers, however online commerce will have
boomed.
The types of concepts communicated in the future will be similar to today, but in larger
quantities. Young persons and adults alike will continue to be engaged in creating digital
dossiers through social media and innovative productions (i.e., books, images, etc). Information

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will become decentralized as open-source sharing turns into a commonplace environment.
Students, scholars, and the common person will be able to share their opinions, ideas, and
research in rich, interactive digital formats. This increase in quantity will not decrease the
quality of materials created and communicated about.
INFORMATION TOOLS
One final change for 2037 will be the use of information-related tools. Unlike 2014, the
year 2037 will have no desktops or traditional laptops. Smaller, lightweight tablets for on the go
and large touch screen panels within homes and businesses will replace these archaic tools. The
use of gesture-based computing and voice activation text make future endeavors even more userfriendly. Mobile device capabilities will be combined with tablets, and wearable tech pieces
(e.g., smart watches and smart glasses) will become popular in areas with higher incomes.
Additionally, cars will have become connected and drivers can make calls and browse the
Internet; driverless cars will not become a prominent cultural facet until the late 2040s.
CONCLUSION
Some of the changes for 2037 will be small and others will be extraordinary. Education
will become more engaging and student-focused, with access to a wealth of decentralized
information and resources. Homes will work to organize and maintain citizens busy lives while
leisure time will take on an immersive state. People around the globe will be exploring and
expanding culture using myriad of informational technologies. Whether the world is ready for it
or not, these changes will be here in the blink of an eye; this is just the beginning of societys
inevitable evolution.

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References
Gohring, N. (2013, May 28). The future of tablets. Retrieved from CITE World website:
http://www.citeworld.com/tablets/21923/tablets-smaller-cheaper-everywhere
Kelly, H. (2013, May 8). Testing touchscreen tables in classrooms. Retrieved from CNN
website: http://whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/08/testing-touchscreen-tables-inclassrooms/
Kurzweil, R., & Kirkpatrick, D. (2000, October 9). Ray Kurzweil. Retrieved from CNN website:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/10/09/289307/
Osborne, C. (2013, August 29). Skype sees 3D video calling in its future. Retrieved from CNN
website: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57600560-93/skype-sees-3d-video-callingin-its-future/
Purcell, K., Heaps, A., Buchannan, J., & Friedrich, L. (2013, February 13). How teachers are
using technology at home and in their classrooms. PewResearch Internet Project, 1-5.
Saylor, M. (2012). The mobile wave. Boston, MA: Da Capo Press.
SmartThings. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2014, from http://www.smartthings.com
The new media literacies [Video file]. (2008). Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEHcGAsnBZE
Wagner, C. G. (2011, January). 70 jobs for 2030. The Futurist, 30-33. Retrieved from
http://www.thefutureofwork.net/assets/70_Jobs_for_2030.pdf