Generation iMagine

The other day I read an article about things that will no longer exist in 40years time. The top item was wrist watches, followed by things like cut-out-coupons, paper CVs and broadcast TV.

Another thing on the endangered list were college backpacks. According to the article, kids would soon no longer schlep a backpack full of books to school, but instead simply bring their iPads on which all their books and assignments were stored.

What a great idea! After all, people hardly hand write anything in real life anymore why should we expect kids to write exams on paper and deny them the chance to structure their arguments better?

A few days after reading this article, I realised to my surprise that it may not take 40 years for this to happen, but that virtual classrooms are already a reality.

My sister’s guest-cousin goes to a school, where all pupils use tablets instead of books, where homework is typed and submitted to an iCloud and where the entire school is one big Wi-Fi zone. Teachers no longer use white boards, but have touch screens and students no longer sit on uncomfortable and wobbly chairs, but instead work in a Starbucks-like coffee lounge! Teachers mark assignments online and mail them back to the students - and a copy to the parents. Short updates about what has been discussed in class are also mailed to the parents together with an overview of homework. And once a week, teachers from other countries teach the children in "webinars".

I was speechless! I knew that technology has the potential to change lives, but I had not realised it was doing it to such an extent already. And quite rightly so. Nowadays so much work is done on computers that it seems silly not to educate children on them as well.

I dare only dream what might come next... Neat handwriting may no longer be a factor influencing grades; spelling may no longer be more important than content and addition and division may be replaced by classes on how to use Excel! Just imagine the possibilities...

Still overwhelmed with all these "revolutionary" thoughts, I went to Lesotho and realised that another point on the list of “things that will no longer exist” was also true and potentially even more amazing: Education inequality.

For some reason, textbooks are prohibitively expensive and children from developing countries can rarely afford good study materials. Teachers are often poorly qualified and can hardly read and write themselves. And schools, especially in rural areas, are often miles away from where children life and kids spend hours walking to school and back…

So just imagine what technology could do...

Children could access all the textbooks they need and use well-structured courses specifically matched to their needs, they could be taught online by qualified teachers; and they would no longer have to walk hours to get to school but could instead focus on studying…

Imagine the chances these children could have in life?

Imagine the World we could live in…