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Childhood in the digital age
Childhood in the digital age

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4.1 What could the future look like?

When you think about education, you probably think of a teacher standing at the front of a classroom imparting knowledge to pupils. However, there is a strong feeling among experts that technology is leading to change.

The following audio recording asks how well some of the more radical ideas about technology in the classroom are received, such as those practised at the Khan Academy. The Khan Academy [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]  is an online teaching service whose mission is to provide a free world-class education to anyone, anywhere. Ten million users every month log on to its online videos.

In the interview, Salman Khan, the Academy’s founder, talks about the promise of these online resources. He suggests that the current model of education is outdated and that technology is now available to provide totally personalised learning.

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Khan Academy
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Activity 4.1

Having listened to the audio, note your thoughts in response to the following questions:

  • What are your thoughts about the potential of the Khan Academy dashboard, and how this could change education in the future?
  • What risks might be involved with adopting what might be considered a ‘Big Brother’ approach to monitoring the progress children make in their learning?