The annual Bill and Melinda Gates letter features nine “surprises,” including one trend sure to affect classrooms–if it really happens. “Textbooks,” says Gates, “are becoming obsolete.”
What he’s really describing is how computer-driven mass customized personalized learning can supplant some aspects of traditional classrooms:
Suppose you’re taking high school algebra. Instead of just reading a chapter on solving equations, you can look at the text online, watch a super-engaging video that shows you how it’s done, and play a game that reinforces the concepts. Then you solve a few problems online, and the software creates new quiz questions to zero in on the ideas you’re not quite getting.
There are several reasons I would not write an obituary for textbooks just yet.