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Stephen Heppell: "I guess I've sort of answered that, but let me say this in closing. We seem to have an education system built on 'met before' practice. Children in the exam room hoping there will be no surprises, teachers outside hoping they have prepared the children for everything. In practice we are in a world where we have not met before any of the current challenges: global warming, economic collapse, etc. And when these unexpected things happen, all folk seem to be able to do is carry on as before: the banks paying bonuses, people burning fuel etc. "To solve the 21st century's problems will take all our ingenuity, innovation, creativity and delight. And will need every single learner. The only certainty is that to carry on doing the 'old' way would be a reckless and foolish gamble. That is why I can be so certain that learning will and can change...

The separation of work and home: When you're carrying an email-equipped computer in your pocket, it's not just your friends who can find you -- so can your boss. For kids born this year, the wall between office and home will be blurry indeed.

Books, magazines, and newspapers: Like video tape, words written on dead trees are on their way out. Sure, there may be books -- but for those born today, stores that exist solely to sell them will be as numerous as record stores are now.

Fax machines: Can you say "scan," ".pdf" and "email?"

"It's important to remember that a good third of our visual cortex ... is devoted to literacy, reading. This 5000-year-old cultural invention has usurped a huge chunk of the brain," he said. "One of the trade-offs of this is that people who can read are a little worse at 'quote-unquote' reading the natural world and remembering objects such as plants and animals, because so much of our visual vortex is devoted to letters, syllables and words."