This is the second in a three-part series of predictions. Link to post 1 is here.
"The schools are run by "professors" (the very definition of a school). The professors teach according to the prescribed programme. The programme is prescribed by authority. Is this authority in touch with life? Occasionally only. Is life a programme? No, life is explosive." Le Corbusier 1935 Source: Design Mind
I think a lot about education. This is in part due to my involvement with One Laptop per Child, my teaching at FIU and a belief that better education is the best way to solve the world's problems. All of the views that follow are my personal views and do not reflect the views of OLPC, FIU or any of my clients.
Worldwide the form of education has changed little since the 1800s. The teacher stands in front of the class and "pushes" the assigned curriculum at the student, usually in one form of presentation--voice. The better model is the Piaget inspired model where the student pulls the information in their preferred form and the teacher becomes more of a guide or mentor. This approach has made only limited head way as a universal approach to education for a wide variety of reasons. However, the emergence of widespread web connectivity and recent initiatives in online curriculum present the opportunity to change education dramatically toward a Piaget inspired model
Some of the most noteworthy experiments in education on the Web include:
- Khan Academy
- MIT Open Courseware
- UN initiatives in online learning
- Collection from "better" universities
There are another thousand initiatives around the world that I have not mentioned. The fact is that the highest quality courses, especially in math and science, are now also available on the Web.
The proliferation of high quality courses online is leading us toward the Piaget inspired day when students (and parents) will pick their courses and the method of instruction. Within 10-15 years most students may no longer attend physical schools but instead will pick their curriculum from online offerings. What does this mean:
- Online courseware will be extensively rated by users and third parties
- Teachers will still exist as optional mentors, but they will be affiliated with course providers and probably paid by the students directly
- We will need a new type of agency to confer degrees starting with elementary school and continuing through university to reflect the varied sources of course content available to the student
- The number of surviving schools will be much fewer, with the best schools offering a totally different educational experience and lesser schools focusing on offering schooling to younger students (e.g. community colleges will compete for high school students)
The missing ingredient in this 1984 view of education is the social experience provided through physical schools. However, the younger generation will solve this problem using the social media technology they are so fond of. I am also not sure how school sports will evolve but maybe we will have "baseball" and "football" schools just like in the Dominican Republic.
Prediction 1 is here.
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