“Education is going to change forever,” says sixth grader Tesfay when talking about his team’s project that looks at schools of the future. He and his partner, Aaron, envision a completely new reality for where and how students will learn one day. The two Monroe Middle School students are among hundreds participating in Campbell Union School District’s Centennial Celebration Design Challenge. 

“Student Design Challenge teams are creating exhibits for the Campbell Historical Museum that will celebrate the past, present, and future of our students and schools,” says Julie Goo, the district’s Coordinator of Innovation, Teaching, and Learning. Using the engineering and design thinking process, the students are designing exhibits that explore and amplify the stories of teaching and learning in the community. Some, like Tesfay and Aaron, create a vision for what education may be like for students a 100 years from now.

“There will be plenty of money for schools,” Tesfay says. “The facilities will be great and have everything students need for learning.” Holographic teachers, artificial intelligence, virtual reality devices, and 3-D printers will be as standard as laptops, pencils and projectors are today, says Aaron. In their vision, students will have much more real-life and virtual learning experiences that take place anywhere in the world. And while students will be more self-directed, they will still need live teachers to bond with students and guide them in learning.

“We are giving our students more opportunities to collaborate, think critically, and problem solve through a focus on our Profile of a Graduate competencies,” says District Superintendent Shelly Viramontez. “It is encouraging to hear the ways in which they envision school in the future.“

Coming in April: Student teams are presenting their digital and physical prototypes for selection in a special exhibit in the Campbell Historical Museum’s Carriage House. The exhibit opening and Centennial Celebration is scheduled for the afternoon of April 30th. Details online at www.campbellusd.org/centennial