Will technology ever make human teachers irrelevant in education?

This is a very good question. There are ways that people can get college degrees without ever stepping into the classroom, but the interaction of the professor and your classmates cannot be replaced by technology. You still have the interaction with your classmates and professor, even if it is virtually.

Teachers are also needed to help younger kids learn as some of the teachings in younger grades involve nature and positive reinforcements.

So I do not believe that teachers will become irrelevant, but instead they will be part of the process when it comes to delivering education via a technology medium.

Hi Maggie,

I hope technology doesn't replace us! I just got an article that I will copy and paste part of
the article here about blended learning .... blending technology with human teachers! It is one way to integrate both types of learning. But in the end, human teachers will always exist!

Stephanie

Four Keys To Success Using Blended Learning Implementation Models
Elizabeth Brooke, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Chief Education Officer, Lexia Learning

A growing number of schools are piloting or implementing blended learning programs. However, many educators are unfamiliar with the different aspects of this approach and how the various implementation models of blended learning differ.
Technology-laden terms like “one-to-one” and “flipped learning” make blended learning an intriguing—if not daunting—endeavor. However, the foundation of blended learning remains firmly rooted in the concept of empowering teachers to provide personalized and mastery-based instruction.

One common misconception is that simply integrating technology into the school day constitutes a blended learning approach. The mere presence of technology, though, does not constitute a blended learning approach. Instead, it’s the educators’ ability to leverage technology to personalize and streamline the learning process for students that makes blended learning an effective way to maximize the impact of teacher time through direct instruction.

When blended learning incorporates adaptive technology, real-time progress monitoring, and provides the recommended next steps to customize instruction for each student, teachers become more targeted, time efficient and effective in improving students’ overall reading abilities. Educators will embrace blended learning when they are included in the decision-making process, understand the benefits of new initiatives, and have the skills—or the support to develop the skills—to accomplish what is being asked of them.

Your question reminds me of the poem "What Teachers Make" by Taylor Mali, a teacher. Here is a link to the poem https://www.taylormali.com/poems-online/what-teachers-make/ . I heard Taylor Mali, in person, on stage, recite this poem many years ago at an assembly in a high school where I was teaching. His contact with the audience of both students and faculty was direct and his performance of this particular poem electrified the room, offering food for thought for days, years even. I think you can answer your question by thinking about teachers who have "made a difference" for you, and imagining that taking place without the agency of that particular teacher.
Experience being a very good teacher, I applaud your initiative to finish a Teacher Cadet course to learn first hand "what teachers make" and I am sure your quest for the answer to your question will be an interesting journey.

Great question Maggie,

I hope not! As a teacher, I find a lot of good comes out of human interactions and having the physical presence of someone for the students to look to. It also helps form rapport with students and decreases the chances of problems in the classroom. Certainly, technology is an amazing tool and at times can be used in place of a physical teacher. However, technology is limiting and can be risky (ie power failure, slow internet, electrical issues). I for one, hope we can use technology more in the classroom, but not at the expense of replacing teachers.

I feel like this would be a great plot for a movie, just throwing it out there... :)