Bill "I'm Richer than the Pope" Gates has a vision for our children's future that involves tablet PCs rather than text books in class rooms. Gates had this to say in an article posted at PC World.

"We do see, over time, that the ink input for the tablet and speech input will become as important as the keyboard, not replacing it but equally important. In fact, we see a day where every student, instead of their textbooks, will simply have their tablet computer connected up to the wireless Internet," Gates said. "And so the teacher can customize the material, they can quiz the student. That student can have that tablet with them wherever they go and it's actually lighter than the textbooks and more flexible, richer in terms of what it can offer."

While I will agree that the Gates vision of future classrooms is interesting, I just don't see it happening. Sure you can reuse the Tablet PCs year after year rather than having to buy new textbooks as knowledge and curriculum's change. Lets be honest though, tablet PCs would probably not last three months in the hands of most school children. We can all remember the destruction wrought on textbooks during our school days. I shutter to think of sensitive electronics being subjected even to the tiny lockers most schools provide. Maybe I am wrong, but this is one vision of the future I will be shocked to see come true. What do you think?

Story via PC World