This is one of those posts that came together after reading and viewing three different angles concerning education. It made sense to lump them together to show the spectrum of where education might be headed. I remember watching the video from Salman Khan first. My thoughts after that were if a person was really motivated they could really teach themselves more than a person that is unmotivated that is going to University. There’s a lot of other free online resources that can be found on YouTube and even iTunes. It is a matter of someone having the time and inclination. The second post came from TechCrunch that sort of backs up the assertion that online videos will give the opportunity and access that was not once available. Again I think it is up to an individual to take the initiative to discover this information. I don’t think it is five years away but in some case already here. The third post from Salon.com is depressing. I took a quote from the updated post that talks about how some schools are closing early and libraries are being shut down. Below I reversed the order showing the most negative post and built it up to what the potential might be for learning.

From Salon.com: What collapsing empire looks like. Utah is seriously considering eliminating the 12th grade, or making it optional.  And it was announced this week that “Camden [New Jersey] is preparing to permanently shut its library system by the end of the year, potentially leaving residents of the impoverished city among the few in the United States unable to borrow a library book free.”

From TechCrunch: Bill Gates: In Five Years The Best Education Will Come From The Web. “Five years from now on the web for free you’ll be able to find the best lectures in the world,” Gates said at the Techonomy conference in Lake Tahoe, CA today. “It will be better than any single university.

The above video of Salman Khan speaking at GEL (Good Experience Live) Conference. He talks about how he started creating different types of tutorials online and how it has grown. His YouTube channel can be found at http://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy?feature=chclk