Real changes and disruptions usually
come “from below”: through the individual decisions of the many rather than
through sweeping decrees from the government. From the car to the internet to
the tablet to the iPhone — that is, in all the great upheavals that new
technologies have created in our lifestyle, culture, and working environment —
it has been the many individuals that have decided to adopt changes, not the
politicians.
The good news is that there is
indeed a revolution going on. But it is not about education systems. It is
about learning. It is people taking learning into their own hands. A new trend
is initiated by a whole new breed of learning technology start-ups that set out
to make learning easier for everybody. Their goal is not to alter elementary
education or university teaching. They do not deal with governments; their
customers are not countries and states. They are focused solely on their users
— people who want to learn something. And this is a powerful force to harness.
Learning tools like Babbel are
directly tailored to the user; there are no institutions in between. People
decide for themselves whether or not the product helps them toward their goals
and is worth their money. It’s a much smaller-scale enterprise than a
nationwide introduction of new software for schools or the building of an
online university.
These upheavals are also taking
place in the learning sphere but outside of the established educational
systems. Students are currently not the most active in this change process. As
a rule, they study for their degrees and final exams with a goal clearly in
mind. Formal education is more about passing a French exam than about being
able to actually talk to a French person. This is because a degree or
certificate is often equally valuable as the actual knowledge or skills.