Archives: Expert Predictions

The highway will alter the focus of education from the institution to the individual. The ultimate goal will be changed from getting a diploma to enjoying life-long learning.

A lot of parents, professionals, and community or political leaders will have the opportunity to participate in the teaching process, even if only for an hour here or there. It will be practical, inexpensive, and, I think, commonplace for knowledgeable guests to lead or join discussions, via videoconferences, from their home or offices.

The highwayÕs educational possibilities will also be open to the worldÕs unofficial students. People anywhere will be able to take the best course taught by great teachers. The highway will make adult education, including job training and career-enhancement courses, more readily available.

Computers on the information highway will be able to stimulate the world as well as explain it … When simulations get completely realistic, we enter the realm of virtual reality. IÕm sure that at some point schools will have virtual-reality equipment Ð or maybe even VR rooms, the way some now have music rooms and theaters Ð to allow students to explore a place, an object, or a subject in this engrossing, interactive way.

The good teachers of the future will be doing much more than showing kids where to find information on the highway. They will still have to understand when to probe, observe, stimulate, or agitate. TheyÕll still have to build kidsÕ skills in written and oral communications, and will use technology as a starting point or an aid. Successful teachers will act as coaches, partners, creative outlets, and communications bridges to the world.

The highway will allow new methods of teaching and much more choice. Quality curriculums can be created with government funding and made available for free. Private vendors will compete to enhance free material. The new vendors might be other public schools; public school teachers or retired teachers going into business for themselves; or some privately run, highway-based school service program wanting to prove its capabilities. The highway would be a way for schools to try out new teachers or use their services at a distance.

The interactive network will allow students to quiz themselves anytime, in a risk-free environment. A self-administered quiz is a form of self-exploration É Testing will become a positive part of the learning process. A mistake wonÕt call forth a reprimand; it will trigger the system to help the student overcome his misunderstanding. If someone really gets stuck, the system will offer to explain the circumstances to a teacher. There should be less apprehension about formal tests and fewer surprises, because ongoing self-quizzing will give each student a better sense of where he or she stands.

Many educational software programs will have distinct personalities, and the student and computer will get to know each other. A student will ask, perhaps orally, “What caused the American Civil War?” His or her computer will reply, describing the conflicting contentions: that it was primarily a battle over economics or human rights. The length and approach of the answer will vary depending on the student and the circumstances. A student will be able to interrupt at any time to ask the computer for more or less detail or to request a different approach all together. The computer will know what information the student has read or watched and will point out connections or correlations and offer appropriate links … Different learning rates will be accommodated, because computers will be able to pay attention to independent learners.

At first, new information technology will just provide incremental improvements over todayÕs tools. Wall-mounted video white boards will replace a teacherÕs chalkboard handwriting with readable fonts and colorful graphics drawn from millions of educational illustrations, animations, photographs, and videos. Multimedia documents will assume some of the roles now played by textbooks, movies, tests, and other educational materials. And because multimedia documents will be linked to servers on the information highway, they will be kept thoroughly up-to-date.