Two things caught my attention this week, and they point to a post-Covid shift to online education in the US:
- In Texas online educators are being funded with the same money – per student – as physical schools
- Google told schools (using Chromebooks), you either let kids use Gemini AI, or we will switch off the search engine
Homeschooling is one thing, but lately in the US that can mean an online service, like Stride Inc, can teach your kids over a video link, instead of Mum or Dad being the tutor. So you get “professional” educators without the hassle of getting your kid to school. The downside is massive, far lower socialising in an era of loneliness. At least 650K American high school students are learning virtually. That’s only 1 percent of all students, but it is growing.
AI is the other angle. Before long virtual schools won’t need real teachers as much. They will use AI teachers. They will be trained on real teachers and be effective for general teaching and looking after student needs. And they will be very cheap! That lower cost will be a powerful motivator for governments and/or parents switching to virtual.
By 2035 I would say 10% of students will be virtual. They will be a new type of person, they will interact with the world differently and they will end up being a different sort of adult.
America will do its own thing, because money matters there the most. Hopefully the rest of the world rejects virtual schooling if it means kids never being out in the real world