Nearly everyone would agree that today’s constant changes in technologies, work, and global markets require companies to hire well-educated employees and to train and retrain their workforces continually. But, until now, there have been at least three obstacles to lifelong learning:
One challenge is the nature of textbooks, which are expensive, inconvenient to carry around, and quickly outdated. Textbooks are often a luxury that is beyond the reach of the world’s poor.
Another challenge is the high ratio of learners to teachers. Only the wealthiest students can afford individual tutors who can provide one-to-one help with learning that is customized to the individual’s needs.
The third challenge is the need to send students to a central university or training facility, which involves high costs and a substantial commitment of time for commuting and for classroom learning.
Let’s look at how the latest trends are obliterating these obstacles and finally making the vision of universal, continuous education a reality.
First, we’ll examine the coming evolution of the textbook. Several information and communications technologies — including print, video, sound, film, graphics, cell phones, digital radio, television, and the Internet — are now converging to provide a solution, according to a report in The Futurist.1 Soon the Internet may be populated with cyber assistants that will help learners navigate all of the resources that will be available on-line, from encyclopedias to blogs.
Book publishers are already combining printed books with digital information encoded on CDs. For example, a management textbook might contain a CD that includes spoken lectures by the author or other experts, as well as videos, charts, and links to additional material on the Web.
Now let’s consider how new technologies can overcome the other two limitations: high student/teacher ratios and centralized schools. Obviously, the Internet can supplement or even replace classroom learning by bringing teachers, slide shows, and other instructional materials to the student’s computer screen.
One intriguing new tool is the automated on-line tutor developed by physicist Alfred Bork. As The Futurist explains, the tutor can be set to...
