Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think

by Peter H. Diamandis

This Time It’s Personal Gates is partially right. For some, the Khan Academy really is the future of education, but it’s not the only future available. Of the lessons to be learned from industrial education, foremost among them is the fact that not every student is the same. There are those who enjoy the head-on collision with knowledge that is a Khan video; others prefer it presented tangentially, which is how information usually arrives in video games. Whatever the case, digitally delivered content means that it’s no longer one size fits all. Students are now able to learn what they want, how they want, and when they want. And with the exponential expansion of IT technologies such as Negroponte’s tablets and Nokia’s smart phones, personalized learning will soon be available to just about anyone who wants it, no matter where in the world he or she lives. But for digitally delivered universal education to be truly effective, we also need to change the way progress is measured. “We can’t get deeper learning until we change the tests,” says Gee, “because the tests drive the system.” Here too video games offer a solution. “A video game is just an assessment,” continues Gee. “All you do is get assessed, every moment, as you try to solve problems. And if you don’t solve a problem, the game says you failed, try again. And you do. Why? Because games take testing, the most ludicrous, painful part of school, and make it fun.” Even better is the data-capturing ability of video games...