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Education is essential for economic progress, happiness, and reducing violence. This paper discusses global effectiveness of distance computer‐based modules, both learning and cost. Frequent interaction will be in each student’s language, computer to student and student to computer, with either keyboard or speech input. The units developed will be highly adaptive for students of any ethnic group, gender, or economic background. The goal is mastery for almost all students, in distance learning and schools. Current technology is adequate. Mathematics will be used as an example.

Adult continuing education will be of increasing importance, as the median age of our society and the pace of change continue to increase. The paper begins with an examination of the goals of all learning. It focuses on a new paradigm for learning, tried so far only on a very limited basis: computer‐based tutorial learning, considered particularly important for adult learning. This paradigm, practical today with modern technology, allows a much more individualized approach to learning than is largely available today, for very large numbers at much lower total costs than at present. Student interaction with the computer will be frequent (every few seconds) and in the student’s native language. Little large‐scale experience is available with such highly interactive material, so we should begin with extensive experimental efforts in this direction. A large worldwide developmental effort in many languages would follow successful research.

A discussion of the possibilities and benefits of e‐learning: anywhere, anytime, tailored to the individual, can be very cheap. Concentrates especially on tutorial learning which takes place with a highly skilled tutor and the available technology.

A knowledge economy demands the ability to adapt snippets of knowledge to different situations – critical thought in another form.