In 2020, students may be able to travel to faraway continents, and attend a school halfway around the world.

Experts predict technology will facilitate distance learning outside of traditional classrooms, according to a survey published by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. In the study, 1,021 education experts and stakeholders including technology researchers, university directors, venture capitalists and Ivy League university professors, relayed their predictions about the future of higher education.

About 60% of respondents believe higher education will look completely different from the way it is today. While, 39% of participants think the traditional college structure will not change drastically aside from a deeper integration of in-classroom technology.

For now, class attendance, in-person participation and on-campus commitment are key factors of college success. In the future, that may all change.

Teleconferencing, online universities and distance learning will lead to hybrid campuses, experts said. Hybrid campuses will incorporate online learning plus in-person class meetings.

The ballooning cost of a college degree is driving the need for a new school system. Outstanding student debt in the U.S. is upwards of $1 trillion.

“Under current and foreseeable economic conditions, traditional classroom instruction will become decreasingly viable financially,” Mike Liebhold, senior researcher and distinguished fellow at The Institute for the Future, wrote. “As high-speed networks become more widely accessible tele-education and hybrid instruction will become more widely employed.”

Many survey participants think the future educational structure will tackle economic stress and educational divides. Online non-profits and online universities are beginning disrupting the space, hopefully making education more accessible and affordable in the long run.

For example, The Khan Academy started by one man on YouTube now provides more than 3,300 free videos for anyone in the world. On the website, students and adults can brush up on a wide range of math, science, finance and humanities skills. Anyone in the world can utilize the extensive video library to learn organic chemistry or microeconomics.

Experts also believe out-of-the-classroom learning will inspire innovation that’s lacking on campuses now.
“We spew it from a lectern; we expect it to be spewed back in a test,” Jeff Jarvis, director of the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism wrote. “That kind of education does not produce the innovators who would invent Google. The real need for education in the economy will be re-education.”

What would you change about the higher education system? Share your thoughts in the comments.









































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Which would you rather give up for a weekend — sex or your iPhone? 15% of respondents to one study said they would choose a romance-free weekend rather than go without their beloved device.


A recent survey conducted by Gazelle.com (the company that buys your old iPhone) asked 1,000 people who have used the service to trade-in an old device if they’d rather go without sex or iPhone for a weekend. Yes, 15% of people chose sex.

This isn’t the first time smartphone owners admitted they would give up sex over their smartphone. In a related survey by another company, smartphones tied with intimate relationships as two things business professionals said they couldn’t live without.

But there’s another relationship between iPhones and people’s sex lives — nearly 4% of respondents to the Gazelle survey reported having used their iPhones while having sex.

A spokesperson for Gazelle said they were even more surprised at how many people said they would choose their device over Facebook.

“When asked which device or platform they would not be able to live without, a majority (65%) chose iPhone, while only a few (1%) report not being able to do without Facebook,” the press release for the survey states.

The survey was open to Gazelle customers for about one week. A spokesperson for Gazelle told Mashable they wanted to make the survey available for iPhone owners because the questions related to that device.

Check out some other highlights from the survey:

• Consumers want an iPhone with a larger screen. Nearly 40% of respondents report a bigger screen is the feature they would most like to see added to the next version of the iPhone.
• Thanks to iPhone, consumers have been able to reduce the number of devices they own. Nearly 70% of survey respondents report waving goodbye to their iPod or mp3 player since purchasing an iPhone. Fifty-five percent have ditched their camera, and over 40% have gotten rid of their GPS unit since buying an iPhone.
• iPhone is ruining our manners and we love it anyway. More than 25% of survey respondents report that they “almost always” use their iPhone while in a social setting such as during a meal or while at a party. iPhone hasn’t just changed how we communicate and access information – it’s also completely changed live social interaction. A combined 58% of respondents say they use their iPhone in a social setting either “usually” or “occasionally,” while only 17% of respondents report using their iPhone in such a situation either “rarely” or “never.”
• Think twice before you reach for a friend’s iPhone – you don’t know where it’s been. Nearly 85% of respondents report having used their iPhone while in the bathroom.

Are you an iPhone owner, and if so, can you relate to any of these survey results? Tell us in the comments.
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