I recently spoke at the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) conference in Columbia, SC, charged with the daunting task of speaking on the conference theme, "The Role of Technology in Public Education," while using technology to argue that education needs to heed strong cautions about the lure of technology.
At one of the keynote talks, another speaker ended his presentation by highlighting what he feels is the next wave of educational innovation—Khan Academy.
Just a couple days later, Khan popped up again on a segment of 60 Minutes.
At this intersection of technology, education, and media, I have to note that Sal Khan and his new wave of video-based education has something striking in common with Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education, Bill Gates as education entrepreneur, and Michelle Rhee as draconian education administrator.
The Cult of Personality v. Expertise
First, let's consider how Duncan, Gates, Rhee, and Khan attained their status as