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The Exponential Educator

Few people would disagree that the state of education in America is in need of improvement. Unfortunately, all too often the debate for fixing the problem centers on stale old nostrums, including paying teachers more money and making class sizes smaller. Rarely, do people discuss how emerging technologies have the potential to enrich the educational experience for students and teachers alike.

A number of recent articles help paint a different and exciting picture of the future state of education. The first was reported in Physorg.com and it discusses how scientists are using virtual reality goggles to study out-of-body experiences. Now, out-of-body experiences aren’t something I would yet recommend teaching young students about, but what the study does indicate is that virtual reality technology might soon be used to help “train people to do delicate ‘teleoperating’ tasks, such as performing surgeries remotely.”

If the technology can be used to help doctors learn how to perform surgery remote, there are surely other educational applications it can also be used for, including studying human anatomy in a biology class. Why it can even be used to teach such topics as history.

The second article was an editorial by Michael Granof in the New York Times addressing the insanity of how the market for college textbooks currently exploits students. Rather than having students shell out between $100-$150 for a textbook; Granof proposes that schools and universities instead license the intellectual content of the material. He makes a compelling case and when one further considers how Amazon’s new electronic book might re-kindle education, my prediction is that the educational community will move in this direction quickly.

The third item comes compliments of CNET. It is a piece entitled, ”Is the digital pen mightier?,” and it discusses how digital pens are getting exponential better. The technology might not yet be ready for mainstream use but its time is coming.

One place where such technologies as virtual reality, Kindle and digital pens might find a home is at the self-proclaimed ”College of the Future,” which is now being built in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota. What I like about the company’s plan is that rather than making the student “go to the education,” its business model is predicated on the innovative idea that the education—whether it is from the University of Minnesota, Harvard or somewhere across the globe—will come to the student.

Of course, in the future, as I said in this piece, I don’t believe there will be a strong need for physical buildings to help facilitate learning; but such institutions will continue to provide young students an important place to interact with their peers in a social setting.

Interested in other future-related ideas about education? Check out these past articles:

The Future of Education is Now
The Future of Education: Is it About to Be Rekindled?
The Future of College
What Language Will the Future Speak?
Do the Impossible: A Case Study

Jack Uldrich is a writer, futurist, public speaker and host of jumpthecurve.net. He is the author of seven books, including Jump the Curve and The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business. He is also a frequent speaker on future technology and future trends, nanotechnology, robotics, RFID, innovation, change management and executive leadership to a variety of businesses, industries and non-profit organizations and trade associations.

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