Recently the Gates’ 2019 Annual letter was released – covering topics related to their philanthropic efforts as well as day-to-day living improvements.
For us at DigitalEd, the “surprise” that we enjoyed reading the most was #8 “Textbooks are becoming obsolete”. Now contrary to the title, the conversation isn’t focused on the cons of a published textbook but rather the pros of education software.
For those of you that haven’t had a read, you can view the letter here.
My favourite portion of the conversation comes from Melinda Gates:
“In short, we now have the tools to redesign higher education so that it meets the needs of today’s students.”
In a world where we’ve all adapted and succeeded at so many things, one of them being technology, it’s strange that something so fundamental – education – isn’t using the tools available to their full potential.
With many students now being over 25, having jobs, and/or kids of their own, the traditional in-room learning environment needs to be adjusted.
Offering courseware and/or assessment online brings education into the future and combats modern student problems. Not to mention, saves them money!
Besides the aforementioned benefits, online courseware truly gives students the freedom to take hold of their education and get as much, or as little, as they desire from the subject matter. Achieved through unlimited testing and rich media interaction in their course.
Intrigued? Head over to our case studies to see how implementing digital tools can transform your online education delivery.