Serious Play Lab Wiki - User contributions [en]

Jusman's Individual Account

2023-12-18T03:20:29Z

DBihon: Created page with "I'm 18 years old in September, and I'm grateful for being born in Canada. I recently graduated high school in Keswick which, if you didn't know, is pretty far from the city center. I've heard that our American counterparts have to drive their hover-cars everywhere, and they love how cool that feels. While I admire their love for personal automobiles, I will take the train to Toronto every day and transfer into the skytrain to go to University of Toronto. It only takes ha..."

I'm 18 years old in September, and I'm grateful for being born in Canada. I recently graduated high school in Keswick which, if you didn't know, is pretty far from the city center. I've heard that our American counterparts have to drive their hover-cars everywhere, and they love how cool that feels. While I admire their love for personal automobiles, I will take the train to Toronto every day and transfer into the skytrain to go to University of Toronto. It only takes half an hour to get to the heart of the city which is quite good for living relatively far North. If I were to drive, it would take nearly an hour, and I wouldn't get any schoolwork done on the way there. Virtual reality colleges are growing in popularity, but it doesn't really make sense to invest in the Full-Dive headset for classes. Besides, I enjoy going in-person since my best friend is going there too. The profs are supposedly really great too, since they have to go through teacher's college now. My grandfather always complains about how back in his day, profs didn't have to learn how to teach, which seems a little unbelievable to me. I'll miss walking to school every day though, since every residential neighbourhood is legally required on the federal level to have a high school within walking distance to them.

Back in high school, my favourite teacher was Mr. Satoru who taught English. He always made our lessons super interesting by using his AI enhancements to help him plan lessons according to the curriculum and mark assignments. This gave him much more time to focus on us individually, so that made it really easy for me to stay engaged. My grandpa also told me that they used to go into a lot of debt to get post-secondary education... Why would anybody have to pay for school when you're going there to learn the skills to make money. Sometimes I think he's going senile when he tells me some of this stuff. I'll be studying engineering and fashion design because I want to become a backpack manufacturer. There's even a company right here in Keswick that I can start working at right out of university, but I might explore the other nearby towns to weigh my options. There’s a large demand for handmade goods, so the grandpa says the trades are back in business. I don’t really know why he still calls them the trades because pretty much everyone has a degree nowadays. Mom went shopping with me the other day for a new laptop for school, and the one I chose is really cool. It was pretty expensive, but it’s state-of-the-art and barely weighs anything.

Taking notes helps me, though even if I just listened, I could probably remember 90% of it. I’ll be graduating in 3 years since they reduced the length of all programs due to the increased cognitive capabilities of students, thanks to AI enhancements. At first, grandpa was against me getting one, but mom said that they’re tested and safe now, and everyone else has one. It’s helpful, but I get what grandpa means - sometimes things feel too easy with it. I try to be productive with the time I gain by practicing on my sewing machine, but sometimes I just go on YouTube and spend a few hours there. If grandpa sees me doing that, he’ll kick me out of the house for something. Usually it’s for groceries, but sometimes he just wants to see me doing something active. My favourite hobby is to cycle, and with these leg enhancements, I can go downtown and back in 90 minutes. I love the wind blowing in my face, and when I have time, I’ll stop by one of the many parks along whatever route I take.

David's Individual Account

2023-12-18T00:08:49Z

DBihon:

"Hey, I'm Carter Hall, I'm, uh, here to pick up my grandson Kalin, do you ummm, know where I can find room 213?" The lady at the table smiles at me as she continues operating the computer system in front of her, I could see on her desk a name tag, Brant Parker, along with a picture of her young kids. They looked like they were almost Kalin's age.

"Oh it's not too far from here but the school can be difficult to navigate, if you'd like I can beam it to your nav system?" I shuffle a bit before mumbling something about mine not working at the moment. The lady continues smiling, finally pausing her work at the computer to bring up a new window. She asks the computer to print out directions to Kalin's homeroom and almost before the next tick of my watch's hand she's already handing me a freshly inked sheet.

"Here Sir, this should help, if you need any more assistance I can have one of our school's cyber monitors help direct you". I stare at the paper for a moment before gingerly taking it into my hand. I give a quick thanks to Mrs. Parker and make my way out of the office. This school was a truly alien structure, one of contradictions and yet possessing remarkable consistency. Every room I passed seemed to be nearly explosive with the sound of education and enjoyment. Teachers spoke confidently, students played loudly, and the now commonplace AI technology that seemed to be baked into the nervous system of the school constantly made its presence known through its ubiquity among both students and educators alike. I remembered the classrooms of my youth, from before the war. I remember how simple the arrangement was, the teacher gave us information and it was our job as students to adequately receive it. It didn't really work for everyone, I guess that's why they have this now.

But for as loud as the classrooms felt, the school was simultaneously all too quiet as well. New constructions led by AI building suggestions have altered the soundproofing of the classrooms, even someone with a hearing impairment can understand everything as clearly as they need to. It felt similarly odd, like everything had been flipped on its head from my youth. No longer were the classrooms quiet and the halls loud. Yet this was the consistent pattern for every school nowadays. Loud yet quiet, standardized yet oriented to support individual needs. I thought back to my own father, picking me up from computer programming classes as a kid. I remember how alien he felt in a world he didn't seem to understand and rarely appreciated. I haven't seen Kalin since he started grade 2, I haven't even been in a school since I had gotten my Masters now that I think about it. So much has changed but-

"GRANDPA!!"

I turn around and see Kalin beaming at me. I look at the rooms next to me and sigh. Jesus, I hadn't even noticed I had walked past his room. I hope I hadn't embarrassed myself too much in front of him. "Grandpa! Look what I learned!" I watched him eagerly run over to me and start concentrating. He seemed quiet for a minute before suddenly opening his again and smiling!

"There! Grandpa I learned how to use my nav system! I can take us back home now I know the way!". I gently smile and pick up Kalin, nestling him gently in my arms. "Thats great sport! You must have picked that up fast. But we have the car for today so next time you can walk us home okay?". Kalin was too happy in the moment to really mind not getting a chance to use his new skill but he wasn't entirely without words. "Grandpaaaa, you're still driving your own car? But I wanna play games with you on the way home". I smile, "don't worry, I promise we'll have lots of time to play when we get home, I promise". Kalin begrudgingly accepts my comprise and we walk in warm embrace out of the school. I know that this world will never be one I become truly comfortable in, but it doesn't have to be. I think I can accept the future, for the sake of the future. A better life for those that deserve better than what the world before had left them...

David's Individual Account

2023-12-18T00:08:10Z

DBihon: Created page with ""Hey, I'm Carter Hall, I'm, uh, here to pick up my grandson Kalin, do you ummm, know where I can find room 213?" The lady at the table smiles at me as she continues operating the computer system in front of her, I could see on her desk a name tag, Brant Parker, along with a picture of her young kids. They looked like they were almost Kalin's age. "Oh it's not too far from here but the school can be difficult to navigate, if you'd like I can beam it to your nav system?"..."

"Hey, I'm Carter Hall, I'm, uh, here to pick up my grandson Kalin, do you ummm, know where I can find room 213?" The lady at the table smiles at me as she continues operating the computer system in front of her, I could see on her desk a name tag, Brant Parker, along with a picture of her young kids. They looked like they were almost Kalin's age.
"Oh it's not too far from here but the school can be difficult to navigate, if you'd like I can beam it to your nav system?" I shuffle a bit before mumbling something about mine not working at the moment. The lady continues smiling, finally pausing her work at the computer to bring up a new window. She asks the computer to print out directions to Kalin's homeroom and almost before the next tick of my watch's hand she's already handing me a freshly inked sheet.
"Here Sir, this should help, if you need any more assistance I can have one of our school's cyber monitors help direct you". I stare at the paper for a moment before gingerly taking it into my hand. I give a quick thanks to Mrs. Parker and make my way out of the office. This school was a truly alien structure, one of contradictions and yet possessing remarkable consistency. Every room I passed seemed to be nearly explosive with the sound of education and enjoyment. Teachers spoke confidently, students played loudly, and the now commonplace AI technology that seemed to be baked into the nervous system of the school constantly made its presence known through its ubiquity among both students and educators alike. I remembered the classrooms of my youth, from before the war. I remember how simple the arrangement was, the teacher gave us information and it was our job as students to adequately receive it. It didn't really work for everyone, I guess that's why they have this now.
But for as loud as the classrooms felt, the school was simultaneously all too quiet as well. New constructions led by AI building suggestions have altered the soundproofing of the classrooms, even someone with a hearing impairment can understand everything as clearly as they need to. It felt similarly odd, like everything had been flipped on its head from my youth. No longer were the classrooms quiet and the halls loud. Yet this was the consistent pattern for every school nowadays. Loud yet quiet, standardized yet oriented to support individual needs. I thought back to my own father, picking me up from computer programming classes as a kid. I remember how alien he felt in a world he didn't seem to understand and rarely appreciated. I haven't seen Kalin since he started grade 2, I haven't even been in a school since I had gotten my Masters now that I think about it. So much has changed but-
"GRANDPA!!"
I turn around and see Kalin beaming at me. I look at the rooms next to me and sigh. Jesus, I hadn't even noticed I had walked past his room. I hope I hadn't embarrassed myself too much in front of him. "Grandpa! Look what I learned!" I watched him eagerly run over to me and start concentrating. He seemed quiet for a minute before suddenly opening his again and smiling!
"There! Grandpa I learned how to use my nav system! I can take us back home now I know the way!". I gently smile and pick up Kalin, nestling him gently in my arms. "Thats great sport! You must have picked that up fast. But we have the car for today so next time you can walk us home okay?". Kalin was too happy in the moment to really mind not getting a chance to use his new skill but he wasn't entirely without words. "Grandpaaaa, you're still driving your own car? But I wanna play games with you on the way home". I smile, "don't worry, I promise we'll have lots of time to play when we get home, I promise". Kalin begrudgingly accepts my comprise and we walk in warm embrace out of the school. I know that this world will never be one I become truly comfortable in, but it doesn't have to be. I think I can accept the future, for the sake of the future. A better life for those that deserve better than what the world before had left them...