Robots, no set exams, artificial intelligence: is this the future of education? Angus Cater asks three public-school heads how they’re preparing pupils for a radically different world to the one their parents knew.
THERE have only been three education revolutions during the past three to five million years and much that goes on in schools and universities today, technology notwithstanding, would be recognised by a student from the year 1600. This is the premise put forward by leading educationalist Sir Anthony Seldon in his latest book.
In The Fourth Education Revolution, the former Master of Wellington College reasons: ‘The teacher or lecturer today remains the dominant presence… students are organized into groups by age; class size typically varies between 20 and 50; the day is divided into the teaching of different ‘subjects’… teachers and lecturers prepare students for, oversee and mark regular tests and periodic exams.’
In South Downs, the David Hare play set in a Woodard school in 1962, the education is described as being ‘put here to serve an empire which no longer exists’. Most of this will be swept away by the fourth education revolution, created through the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) plus augmented reality and virtual reality.
The future is already here. Huge strides have been made to replace tasks that are currently done by humans with technologically advanced machines that, increasingly, are being made to respond like humans. It’s unlikely that they will ever reproduce the subtlety of human emotional responses, but they can do an awful lot that a person does—and do it rather better.
Sir Anthony, now vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham, and his co-writer, Oladimeji Abidoye, argue that this will transform education. They quote a teacher, Simon Balderson, from the Times Educational Supplement: ‘AI will manage data for each pupil, ensuring that work is always pitched at exactly the right level… it will be possible for lessons to be delivered by the best teachers and most knowledgeable subject specialists in the world.’
Denne historien er fra September 05, 2018-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September 05, 2018-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
