From The Field

Tom Vander Ark

Engage in e-learning

“THE EDUCATIONAL LANDSCAPE — and professional learning — will change a great deal in the next 10 years and even more in the next 20 years, as technology becomes more and more powerful at an exponential rate. I’m quite sure that we’ll see, even by 2010, online learning for both students and teachers that continues to get more and more sophisticated in terms of providing continuous assessment and customizing content based on need and interest.

“I see far less traditional staff development because the system will work in a very different way. Now, it’s almost wholly reliant on the skill of teachers. Over time, success is going to be a function of the teacher, the learning environment, and a set of powerful learning tools.

“The implication for teachers is that they need to become e-learners themselves, first by staying in touch with developments in their field and area of certification, and second by participating in some sort of e-learning activity such as an online learning community or online course. The next step is for teachers and other learning professionals to begin provoking thoughtful conversations about what this all means for their schools and districts. They need to be out in front of this change.”

Tom Vander Ark is president of the X PRIZE Foundation, an education nonprofit institute that offers multimillion-dollar awards for breakthrough innovations that benefit humanity. He is the former executive director of education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where for eight years he oversaw grant making. Before that, he was superintendent of the Federal Way (Wash.) Public Schools. He can be reached at tom@xprize.org.