Teachers will always be needed...but schools? maybe not!

I recently shared some unusual developments with the entire faculty that down the road could impact education in unusual ways.

My premise was that "teachers will always be needed, but a place called 'school' may not be."

I showed the staff this 5 minute video describing the NMC College Campus in the software platform known as "Second Life." It is surreal enough to leave you wondering what it's all about.

Will Richardson said recently that our current educational system was built on the notion that learning content was scarce. Learning content is now abundant and every day it grows more accessible to the public. Motivated students will no longer need traditional schools because teachers will be everywhere and the best ones will be available without being "present."

Shortly after that, I was introduced to MIT's free course ware. Many of MIT's classes are being offered free to the public. That includes lectures, notes, videos, assignments, and virtually everything except a grade and a credit.

Motivated students will have access to absolutely world class educational materials and teachers. Most will still need the personal touch, but in the text message world they live in, who's to say the personal touch isn't digital instead of analog!