Can you image waking to an autonomous living space--the reduction of weight in your mattress prompting a signal to the digitally connected coffee pot, which then proceeds to prepare your ritualistic morning dark brew? Such a system of everyday objects communicating through technology mediation does not feel far off; for those with extreme wealth, such may be a reality today. For some, the Internet of Things (IoT) is an unsettling notion that feels more like something out of science fiction novel. For others, the interconnection of the objects they use daily would ease burden and make their lives easier. While I find myself feeling more nervous about the IoT and Things that Talk (TTT) within my personal space, I am encouraged by the potential of both IoT and TTT within the field of education.

For young children, in particular, learning is immediately linked with exploration. As they touch, taste, smell and interact with their environments, cognitive development evolves. How would such development “look” within the aforesaid space? Of course, there are many factors to consider; however, strategic integration of TTT into learning spaces can foster a generation of stronger knowledge producers. IoT and TTT in education could further allow students to connect with their environments and demonstrate creative cognitive processing. Education has become so inundated with standardized tests, which has robbed education of the spirit of play, creating, and inventing. IoT and TTT has the potential to reignite such.

Founded in the 1990s, TTT Consortium at MIT is a group of industry leaders who conceptualize and research a world of digitally-augmented objects and environments. Among the MIT-sponsored initiatives is the Lifelong Kindergarten. According to its website, “The Lifelong Kindergarten group develops new technologies and activities that, in the spirt of the blocks and finger paint of kindergarten, engage people in creative learning experiences” (https://www.media.mit.edu/groups/lifelong-kindergarten/overview/, para. 1). Personally, I believe in the words of George Bernard Shaw who said, “People don’t stop playing because they grow old; they grow old because they stop playing.” Thus, I can perceive how the Lifelong Kindergarten and other IoT and TTT projects can help us realize a vision of students who go beyond memorization but who actively engage in creating meaning through their engagement with the world around them.