Rethinking Education for a Digital World

« The future is here, » observed science fiction author William Gibson, « it’s just not evenly distributed. » And that’s a problem, because it means the digital divide threatens fundamental ideas of equality, inclusion, literacy, and privilege.

Worse, as the rate of technological change accelerates, it outstrips our ability to learn. The gap gets even wider. Traditional educational systems can’t show us how to put tech to work because often, by the time you learn something, it’s outdated.

To keep up with the pace of change, we need to rethink K-12 education entirely. Doing so is critical not only to prepare citizens for their digital future, but to empower them so they’re directly involved in shaping it. Yet most schools still rely on educational models that predate the industrial revolution.

Ruthe Farmer has a better idea. As Chief Evangelist for CSforALL, she works to bring computer science to all youth, building digital readiness from the ground up. She’ll look at the opportunities—and challenges—that technology poses for digital inclusion, and why computational thinking must rule the day.