Planning
Skills focus: Evaluation: Predicting the future
Topic: Digital world
By the end of this Challenge, learners will develop their evaluation skills by comparing film, media and statistical
material as evidence for predicting the future. Learners will explore recent developments in digital and other
technologies through film, media and internet research. They will design a school for the future in the light of
recent trends in computer use and other technological change.
Lesson 1
Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson, students will:
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Identify examples of technology predicted in science fiction.
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Distinguish between existing and imagined technologies.
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Discuss how science fiction reflects both hopes and fears about the future.
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Reflect on how technology might shape their own future.
Warm-up: Sts will have to choose a science fiction film and they will explain the kind of technology it is
shown. Sts responses can be written on the board.
Activity 1: Show the clips below and ask students what type of technology they could see in the videos.
Let them compare and contrast similar things that have actually been invented.
First, short clips of back to the future will be shown.
Short clips: Back to the future II (2015)
Back to the future II (Video call scene)
Back to the future II (Hoverboard scene)
Then, short clips of Interstellar will be shown: Interstellar (sandstorm)
Interstellar (Miller’s planet)
Introduce the concepts “utopia” (peaceful, green, high-tech city) and “dystopia” (pollution, fear)
Reflective questions:
� General Understanding
1. What kind of future is shown in the clips — utopian or dystopian? Why?
2. What emotions did you feel while watching the scene? Why do you think you felt that way?
⚙️ Technology and Society
3. What role does technology play in this future? Does it help or harm people?
4. How do people live in this future? Do they seem happy, safe, and free?
5. Are there any problems caused by technology in the clip? How could they be avoided?
� Environment and Resources
6. What does the environment look like in this future? Has nature improved or worsened?
7. In Interstellar, the Earth is no longer habitable. What choices led to that situation? Could it
happen in real life?
� Values and Human Relationships
8. How do people relate to each other in this future? Has technology changed relationships?
9. Do people still need face-to-face communication, or is everything digital?
For the following class: Let sts know they will read “The Fun They Had” by Isaac Asimov (1951)
Lesson 2
Warm-up: Sts will be shown a picture related to the story they’ll read.
The picture can spark a short debate.
Activity 1: Story read aloud or in groups
Activity 2: “The Fun They Had” discussion
Questions for sts to answer in the booklet after the discussion:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Who are the main characters in the story?
What kind of school do Margie and Tommy attend?
What do they find out about schools in the past?
Do you think Margie’s mechanical teacher is better than a human teacher? Why?
Do you think technology will replace human teachers in the future? Why or why not?
What things do you think we will miss if all education becomes 100% digital?
Do you know any technology today that Asimov imagined in this story?
Is Asimov describing a utopian or dystopian future?
Lesson 3
Warm-up: Questions about the use of internet
● How many of you use the internet every day?
● What do you usually use it for?
● How would your life change without it?
● Can the internet impact negatively? how?
Individually, Sts will interview their classmates. They will have to fill in the Class Internet Survey Learner Resource L8.1 (this can be uploaded to campus)
Sts will get in groups and they will share their findings.
To finish the class, they can answer these questions orally:
What are the main uses of the internet? What are the main benefits of the internet? Are learners using
the internet more over time? Is internet usage likely to grow? Why is internet usage growing so fast?
Are the results typical of the wider population?
Lessons 4
and 5
Activity 1: Show students graphs or maps about internet usage. For example:
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Statista – Internet Usage
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Our World in Data – Internet Use
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UN/ITU Reports – Global Connectivity
T and sts discuss what they understand from the charts.
Introduce sts how they can show information: maps, bars, pie chart, etc.
Activity 2: Research
Sts choose a topic they will have to do research on (the topic must be related to technology/the
use of internet in different cities/in different years/etc. Then, they will have to provide a
chart/map/bars to show their findings.
They will have to read articles or other sources of information and check the accuracy and
reliability of the texts.
Topics List- one topic per group.
1. Internet Access by Continent
(Compare usage and access in Africa, Europe, Asia, etc.)
2. How Internet Use in Argentina Has Evolved (2000–2025)
(Access, devices, habits, age groups)
3. How Teens Use Social Media in Different Cities
(Compare usage in Buenos Aires, London, New York, etc.)
4. AI in Education: How Is Artificial Intelligence Being Used?
(Apps like ChatGPT, Duolingo, adaptive learning)
5. The Digital Divide: Who Has Access and Who Doesn’t?
(Rural vs. urban, economic impact, government policies)
6. Privacy Online: Are Teens Protecting Their Data?
(Social media, passwords, cyber safety)
Assessing the credibility of sources → Sts can use this resource to check the reliability of the
sources.
visual summary:
Lesson 6
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� A simple bar or pie chart
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� A one-paragraph explanation of the trend
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⚙️ (Optional) A colored world map showing levels of access by country
Sts will keep on working on their findings.
Have sts write a report and prepare a presentation.
Write a Short Report (1 Page Max)
Structure:
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Title
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Introduction (What did we investigate? Why?)
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Data Summary (What did we find?)
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Analysis (What does the data suggest? Surprises? Differences?)
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Conclusion (Final thoughts or reflections)
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Sources Used
Lesson 7
Presentation day. Deadline for them to hand in the report.
Give an Oral Presentation (5 minutes per group)
Each group presents:
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Their topic and why it’s important
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Their chart/visual
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Key findings
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Reflections or difficulties they faced
Visual aids are welcome (poster, slides, printed charts, etc.)
Suggested Assessment Criteria:
Criteria
Research quality
Source credibility
Data presentation
Report clarity
Presentation skills
Teamwork &
Collaboration
Excellent
(5)
Good
(4)
Satisfactory
(3)
Needs Improvement (1–
2)
Lesson 8
Does the use of computers and digital technology affect learning?
Divide the board into two categories:
How technology or the internet helps learning and how technology or the internet restricts learning.
Sts get in groups and think of ideas to write on the board. The ideas will be developed orally.
FINAL TASK
Will computers and technology change learning in schools?
The challenge is to design a school for the future based on the internet and other related
digital technologies.
Article with links with news and video
Have sts answer the following questions in groups:
•
What are the main trends in the internet and digital technology taking place today?
•
How will these trends affect what and how children learn?
Learners produce an outline design of a school for the future, thinking about the following
aspects:
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buildings, facilities and resources
•
learning inside school, at home and in the wider community
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what staff will be needed – teachers, technicians and others
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the best way for learners to develop skills
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the subjects learners should study
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how learners might develop personal qualities and character.
Learners should present the design in any suitable way (presentations are recommended for
them to divide the aspects above in different slides). They can use plans, pictures, models and
diagrams. Learners should create a name and design a logo that symbolises the character of
the school. A possible title: ‘Looking Forward to Change – A School for the Future’.
Learners present their designs to the class. The designs should be evaluated either by peer or
teacher assessment. The presentations should include an explanation of the main features of
the school design and how it will support learning using internet and digital technologies.
The final task may take two or three lessons.
Short story: "The fun they had"
The Fun They Had
Isaac Asimov (1951)
Margie even wrote about it that night in her diary. On the page headed May 17, 2157, she wrote, "Today,
Tommy found a real book!"
It was a very old book. Margie's grandfather once said that when he was a little boy his grandfather told him
that there was a time when all stories were printed on paper.
They turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words that stood still
instead of moving the way they were supposed to--on a screen, you know. And then, when they turned back
to the page before, it had the same words on it that it had had when they read it the first time.
"Gee," said Tommy, "what a waste. When you're through with the book, you just throw it away, I guess. Our
television screen must have had a million books on it and it's good for plenty more. I wouldn't throw it away."
"Same with mine," said Margie. She was eleven and hadn't seen as many telebooks as Tommy had. He was
thirteen. She said, "Where did you find it?"
"In my house." He pointed without looking, because he was busy reading. "In the attic." "What's it about?
"School."
Margie was scornful. "School? What's there to write about school? I hate school."
Margie always hated school, but now she hated it more than ever. The mechanical teacher had been giving
her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her
head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector.
He was a round little man with a red face and a whole box of tools with dials and wires. He smiled at Margie
and gave her an apple, then took the teacher apart. Margie had hoped he wouldn't know how to put it together
again, but he knew how all right, and, after an hour or so, there it was again, large and black and ugly, with a
big screen on which all the lessons were shown and the questions were asked. That wasn't so bad. The part
Margie hated most was the slot where she had to put homework and test papers. She always had to write
them out in a punch code they made her learn when she was six years old, and the mechanical teacher
calculated the mark in no time.
The Inspector had smiled after he was finished and patted Margie's head. He said to her mother, "It's not the
little girl's fault, Mrs. Jones. I think the geography sector was geared a little too quick. Those things happen
sometimes. I've slowed it up to an average ten-year level. Actually, the over-all pattern of her progress is
quite satisfactory." And he patted Margie's head again.
Margie was disappointed. She had been hoping they would take the teacher away altogether. They had once
taken Tommy's teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.
So she said to Tommy, "Why would anyone write about school?"
Tommy looked at her with very superior eyes. "Because it's not our kind of school, stupid. This is the old kind
of school that they had hundreds and hundreds of years ago." He added loftily, pronouncing the word
carefully, "Centuries ago."
Margie was hurt. "Well, I don't know what kind of school they had all that time ago." She read the book over
his shoulder for a while, then said, "Anyway, they had a teacher."
"Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn't a regular teacher. It was a man."
"A man? How could a man be a teacher?"
"Well, he just told the boys and girls things and gave them homework and asked them questions."
"A man isn't smart enough."
"Sure he is. My father knows as much as my teacher."
"He can't. A man can't know as much as a teacher."
"He knows almost as much, I betcha."
Margie wasn't prepared to dispute that. She said, "I wouldn't want a strange man in my house to teach me."
Tommy screamed with laughter. "You don't know much, Margie. The teachers didn't live in the house. They
had a special building and all the kids went there." "And all the kids learned the same thing?" "Sure, if they
were the same age."
"But my mother says a teacher has to be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches and that each
kid has to be taught differently."
"Just the same, they didn't do it that way then. If you don't like it, you don't have to read the book."
"I didn't say I didn't like it," Margie said quickly. She wanted to read about those funny schools.
They weren't even half-finished when Margie's mother called, "Margie! School!" Margie looked up. "Not yet,
Mamma."
"Now!" said Mrs. Jones. "And it's probably time for Tommy, too."
Margie said to Tommy, "Can I read the book some more with you after school?"
"Maybe," he said nonchalantly. He walked away whistling, the dusty old book tucked beneath his arm.
Margie went into the schoolroom. It was right next to her bedroom, and the mechanical teacher was on and
waiting for her. It was always on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday, because her
mother said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.
The screen was lit up, and it said: "Today's arithmetic lesson is on the addition of proper fractions. Please
insert yesterday's homework in the proper slot."
Margie did so with a sigh. She was thinking about the old schools they had when her grandfather's grandfather
was a little boy. All the kids from the whole neighbourhood came, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard,
sitting together in the schoolroom, going home together at the end of the day. They learned the same things,
so they could help one another on the homework and talk about it.
And the teachers were people...
The mechanical teacher was flashing on the screen: "When we add the fractions 1/2 and 1/4..."
Margie was thinking about how the kids must have loved it in the old days. She was thinking about the fun
they had.
Final task: Success Criteria
Success Criteria - Final Task
Research
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We explored current trends in internet and digital technology.
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We explained how these trends could change the way children learn in the future.
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We used a variety of sources (websites, videos, images, etc.) to gather ideas.
School Design
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Our school design includes detailed ideas about:
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Buildings, spaces, and learning environments
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Facilities and digital resources
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Learning in school, at home, and in the wider community
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Staff roles (e.g. teachers, technicians, mentors)
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Subjects and skills for the future
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Ways to support personal growth and character development
Presentation
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We used creative methods to present our school (e.g. drawings, diagrams, models,
digital tools).
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We designed a meaningful name and logo that reflect the school’s vision and
purpose.
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We clearly showed how digital technology will support learning in our school.
Communication
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We worked well as a team and shared responsibilities.
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We presented our ideas clearly to the class or an audience.
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We answered questions and explained our design choices.