By Llonard Yap
When we mention kids, the first thing that comes to our mind is understandably our kids - their well-being, their health, their proper care, their future and their education. This is complicated by today's situation, the global financial crisis. Will we ever get to give them what we want for them? Would they be able to compete? Will they have the same, if not better, chances than we have today? Technology is playing a role in dramatically changing our kids' future and our future. At the pace technology is progressing, information will be at our kids' grasp - on demand. So, what might be the evolving megatrend for kids? What might they be in 2015?
By 2015, information will be at our kids' grasp 24/7 on demand. This will change the landscape of education delivery. Already, some are asking: with the internet, why is there a need to memorize trivial facts we teach kids in schools today? Why indeed, when even unknown words could be defined and drilled down to its deepest detail by the internet and computer screens could be conjured in eyeglasses or sunglasses by that time like those in Universal Soldiers.
Maybe, what we only need to do now is identify what might be the basic knowledge for all kids by that time. Is it just reading, writing, and basic math? Should we add values formation into their basic knowledge? As to the rest, could this be conjured from the internet by then - Web 5.0? Would books become pliant digital scrolls already like we see in sci-fi movies now? Would actually sitting down in our home computers become a standing exercise instead of our whole body like Keanu Reeves did in Matrix? Will improved touch screen and voice dictation replace the keyboard? Will a ring in our fingers then replace the mouse and with special glasses, make its scrolling capability truly virtual 3D?
Will our kids' personal computers handle medical alerts like: you are up for a medical check-up, your sugar is high, your metabolism rate is slowing down, or simply you need to update your inoculation?
Will their personal rings have GPS and we can track them through our own computer screens in our eyeglasses? But, would eyeglasses still be needed by that time? 2015 might be too near to think about mental computer displays conjured from our own brains - but this one is probably more desirable than squinting through those glasses like one-eyed soldiers [imagine how hard it is for our helicopter pilots now to have one good eye on the dashboard controls and another eye squinting through night vision!]
Will we have alerts and full supervision of how deep and how fast are our children drilling down on his exploration of knowledge? Aside from reading, writing and basic math, maybe little Johnny wants to know how to build a website already and at age 12, he might be more interested on an e-course on dotcomology and web business already!
By 2015, little Johnny should be able to go as far deep as he wants already on a specific knowledge avenue. From a query on the word SEO: the net could give him a basic knowledge base understandable in 30 seconds, then it gives him the option to go as far deep on the subject as he wants. This is already an option even now. All it takes to be where it can become very portable and personal is hardware miniaturization, nanotechnology or is anybody saying biological morphing?
All these stuff would also dramatically alter their daily routine and their acceleration into the "real world". Maybe that's not really good. But also, maybe, they would have more playtime, more family chores participation, global connectivity and social networking even from a rustic farm in Wyoming, who knows.
This all boils down to what we do to recalibrate the education delivery system now and whether or not those hardwares would be available by then. But even, at half the expectation or even at no new hardwares yet, these things are already doable now. This is precisely why we put the title in a nearer horizon - 2015.
All these have certainly not been contemplated when someone invented the internet. They probably have not even imagined how the net could alter so much lives as it is already altering ours today. Even media, then considered as the fourth estate, might have already weakened its exclusive domain to publishing and broadcast as we now have blogs, youtubes and ezines.
Education on demand is an exciting possibility that allows our kids to pursue other parallel interests at their own sweet time or at lightning speed. Before all these happen, we already have supplemental education on demand (SEO) or online tutoring and mentoring. Online tutoring has been up and about for some time now. The thesis, however, is: will academic online tutoring be sufficient? No, it won't. Getting an A is short-term and academics should only be a talking point.
High tech must come with high touch, i.e., parental supervision and motivation and for the lack of time for busy parents; there is now a "daycare center" for teens, elementary, middle school, high school, even college. Online tutoring must come with mentoring and caring for your kids' total well-being.
And so it is like coaching tennis; hours and hours of constant practice with a pro or a coach. Corollary to that, mastering reading, writing and math could only be done with hours and hours of one-on-one coaching and solving problems. And, these could not at all be a waste as mastering these basic processes would hone our kids' skills in facing life situations. It could not be done overnight. Certainly a rough diamond needs a lot of polishing!
When physical schools have to supervise 30 students to a class, when parents (and all adults nowadays) are so busy looking for money, SEO or supplemental education on demand aka online tutoring and mentoring is an attractive and cost effective alternative. At Online Learning School SEO, we do just that. Teens need "daycare centers" too. Visit: onlinelearningschool.webs.com .
http://onlinelearningschool.webs.com
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