Learning will occur through video games. The skills required to beat the computer or other oppenents will be the ones considered desirable by whoever sets the academic standards. Just like in real video games, each student will be at a different level based on their previous performance. The game will create scenarios requiring skills about one level above the players current skill level because that is when the most learning happens. Content specialists, programmers, and psychologists will be needed to create the video games, and counselors will be required to work with kids an hour or two a week so they have appropriate feedback about their relationships with the video games and their progress. Counselors will also discuss goals, internships, social activities, etc. Social connections will occur through interest and skill commonalities instead of age commonalities. There will not be classrooms. Teachers will design and modify the video games but will not work directly with kids. The people working directly with the kids will be in the role of facilitating or counseling. The video games won't be cold and faceless, they will be interactive. Kids will not be isolated from adults, they just won't learn any curricular content directly from adults. The adults will be for intervention, etc.

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Where do I sign me up for this scenario!

How about this...

The high school classroom of 2015 will not function on a 6 or 7 period day. It will be evenly balanced between traditional classes and online leaning. Kids will be in school all day but when not in a traditional class setting will be in a computer lab doing online learning assignments, in a "seminar" for one of their online courses (required once a week for each online course) or in a testing session for an online course. They also may be waiting in line to talk to an instructor during their office hours.

Instructors will be required to teach at least one tradional course and at least one online course. Their course load will be a combination of 5 or 6 courses. They will have 5 scheduled office hours per week, teach one "in-person seminar" each week for each online course that they teach, and be available for three office hours per week for each online course that they teach.

School "years" will comprise 5 "quarters" of 10 weeks each with schools shut down 2 weeks per year over the winter holidays. Students and teachers will select 4 consecutive "quarters" per year. Each quarter will have a 1-week break that is optional for students (unless they have failed a course the previous quarter) but not for teachers.

Let me know how you feel about this hypothetical situation...lets get this dialog started!