Abstract
This three round national Delphi survey identified 37 emerging or anticipated hardware information technologies that should affect how classrooms are built for use through the year 2010. The panel consisted of 21 professional members of the World Future Society or of the California Statewide Distance Learning Project. The research questions were: (1) What hardware information technologies are emerging or foreseen that will impact how elementary and/or secondary classrooms are built by the year 2010? (2) What changes in present classroom construction are necessary to get those technologies into the classroom of the future? (3) By when will these technologies affect 50 percent of elementary and/or secondary classrooms? The range and incidence of responses, the date by which the cumulative probability of the appearance of each technology in 50 percent of elementary and/or secondary schools reaches an agreement level of 70 percent, and the extent of agreement of respondents on the changes in construction suggested as needed were analyzed. Technology by characteristic and characteristic by technology cross-impact matrices were generated*. A futures scenario presents the results. Conclusions include: (1) Technologies will be integrated into the classroom, not segregated in a lab. They will bring the world into the classroom. (2) These technologies will be highly interactive. (3) Audio will play an important part. (4) Districts will need information centers connected to the sites. (5) Fiber optics will be a part of many of these technologies. (6) They will impact group instruction practices. (7) Large screen monitors are a part of many of these forecasts. (8) Classroom sizes will need to be variable. (9) Light and lighting will be important considerations. (10) Telecommunications will be an important part of the classroom of the future. (11) Networks of computers and other technologies will be important. (12) Optical technologies will be a major presence. (13) Cabling will be an important aspect of at least 10 of these technologies. Included are recommendations concerning: (1) power, cabling, and space; (2) Building access and ducting; (3) Sound baffling; (4) Technology integration; (5) Workshops for administrative personnel; (6) Copyright issues; (7) Learning styles, and others. ftn*The forecasts, their applicable literature citations, and the analysis matrices are available from the author as a Lotus Agenda(R), Release 1.01, data base.