Mar 13 2013: Learning on an "as-needed" basis is the future of education. Students get excited to learn about a topic when they NEED to learn about it. Example: a student thinks that they might have a venereal disease because they have symptoms. Research into the the symptoms begins with a search of the internet leading to an increased knowledge-base for that student, regardless of whether they actually drill down to the 'correct' answer/diagnosis. Many students are bored in traditional education settings because they are forced to learn about subjects in which they have no vested interest. With all of the content one could ever want to learn already available via the internet, the need to learn that content prior to needing it is irrelevant which makes contemporary education irrelevant. The key to future education is to find ways to make learning efforts intertwined within the student's life. We all WANT to learn when we see the NEED for learning. Very few of us wake up each day planning on learning about something that is irrelevant to us currently. However, have an asteroid take aim at Earth and we all start to learn a bit more about physics and math. The successful education strategy of the future will necessarily meld learning with need.
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