Kindergarten in 2013

This brilliant little boy is my grandson Jack. In three short years he will be entering kindergarten. What changes in today's educational system await him in 2013?

Anya Kamentez, staff writer at Fast Company magazine and author of the new book "DIY U", weaves a fascinating story of how technology could unleash childhood creativity while transforming the role of the teacher.

Devices

• TeacherMate - a $100 handheld computer designed for use in schools; it helps children begin reading, writing, and math lessons.
• Intel Classmate PC - at $499 each, a pricey upgrade packing an adult-sized processor.
• XO - at $199, One Laptop Per Child's unit was designed primarily for use in developing countries. It has a "neighborhood" based network setup that connects all the XOs in a class. Coming in 2012: a next generation XO - a tablet PC with a touch screen

Web Sites

• Sesamestreet.org - one of the best educational websites for children 6 and under - and it's free. Today's parents (and younger grandparents!) grew up on TV's Sesame Street - will their kids make the move over to the web version?
• Discoveryeducation.com/science - a classroom targeted site that costs $1,700 per school building per year. Oregon's board of Education recently approved this site as a K-5 science "textbook."

Mobile Apps

• First Words - a series of pre-K apps designed for the iPhone. Different versions, costing $1.99, focus on animals, vehicles, and household items.
• KidCalc Math Fun - designed for kids ages 2 - 8, and focusing basic arithmetic, counting, sorting, and number tracing.
• Clifford's Be Big With Words - who wouldn't love the big red dog teaching kids aged 2 - 6 spelling, word building, phonetics, and vocabulary.

For the full story, be sure to read Kamenetz's full story here, or check out her book here.

As for me, well, I guess I'll be saving up for Jack's first iPad!