The Future of Education

Recently, in my computer graphics class Prof Perlin was explaining the process of transition from horse drawn carriages to motorized cars. Initially the designers just replaced the horse with an engine. It took some time for them to realize that many restrictions on the previous design were irrelevant now. He then went on to explain how he thought that the same way pages on a book were no longer relevant as we move into the e-book era (http://blog.kenperlin.com/?p=7902). Also because I have been trying to put together some suggestion for improving my college, I started thinking about how the education system should change. I know that these may not be truly novel ideas. But for me these are original. So, I just thought of documenting them.

The general layout of the system I propose is as follows:

Each class room is fitted with a display screen with touch capability (I shall refer to this as the Board from now on.) and every student and teacher is supplied with individual touch screen tablets (shall be referred to as tablets from now on).

Now there will be a distinctive hierarchy in this system. The teacher's tablet has authority over the tablets of the students (of his class). The students have to log on to be granted attendance. Once logged in, the system cannot go to regular mode unless the teacher allows them to do so. During the lecture time, the teacher can put the students' tablet to one of the two modes 

1) lecture mode or 2) exam mode. Thus the tablets cannot be used for leisure activities during class time. In both the modes the teacher can allow access to limited apps (e.g. calculators,periodic tables,etc) if he or she wishes to do so.

Lecture Mode:

In this mode the contents of the boards are replicated onto the tablet, including the content written by the teacher. Now the students can choose to save these markings, and also add to this with their own comments and notes. The teacher can also use this platform to distribute his/her notes. Assignments and exams announced can be automatically marked on student calendars. Enabling sound recording in the classroom can also enable students to access the lecture outside the class environment, if he or she wishes to do so.

Exam Mode:

Exams will be written on the tablets. Once the teacher enables the exam, the students can access the question papers. At the end of the exam duration, the content is automatically submitted. Similar systems can be adopted for assignments or homework. A more secure version of this system can make board examinations also easier to implement.

The content itself needs to be revolutionized because we are no longer using static text books. Using videos, animations, interactive tutorials can help students in understanding concepts much more easily. Assignments can be in the form of interactive games.

Now when the tablets are used by individuals, it is much easier to apply restrictions for internet access and the apps that can be installed on the system. There can be forums for students to collaborate and to ask doubts. Even Teachers can have forums to collaborate on the content and material. There must also be a framework, which will enable teachers to create courseware easily. The content itself will be more dynamic; the interaction with students and teachers is not just direct, but collaborative. Hence it will evolve constantly.

Use of plagiarism detection techniques can make sure that these practices are discouraged at an early stage. The data itself can be on cloud, so that it is hardware independent. Also this in a way can be used by students to document their thoughts. The performances of students can be evaluated using the many statistical and pattern recognition techniques available. Also using these statistics as feedback we can analyse various trends to enhance the educational experience.

As it always is with technology, the possibilities are endless. This is just a rendition of my imagination of how the future of the education system must be. Please post your thoughts/ideas in the comments section..