EMBRACE THE CHAOS

Improving schools around the world is one of IBM's top social priorities. We believe it is critical to enable the growing number of non-traditional paths of learning so they can become the norm, offering students every possible opportunity to develop the skills they will need to succeed.

Our vision for the next generation of learning is that of an Educational Continuum that provides diverse, interconnected learning experiences throughout a person's entire lifetime, starting before kindergarten.

Learning how to share

Such interconnection can be achieved only if the education industry is based on open standards, with the ability for all institutions to share student data, learning programs and technology resources.

Currently more than 10% of educational institutions worldwide use open system technologies, a rate that's growing at about 12% per year.⁴

"The quality of education we deliver is a key determinant of the future we can expect... It's central to world peace, prosperity, and civic development. The more we share, the better the quality of education we'll be able to deliver," said Margaret Spellings, U.S. Secretary of Education, in a 2008 address to U.S. and international college presidents.

^{4 IDC, "Worldwide Software 2007-2011 Forecast Summary," July 2007}