Educational technology at last has progressed to the point where differentiated, individualized instruction clearly is possible for students anywhere on the planet. It can be delivered at any time, in just the right form, with whatever frequency might be required. This has long been the dream of educational technologists. And today the dream has come true--at least in terms of the technology. The barriers to universal access are no longer technical; they're political and financial.

So while governments and society grapple with the challenges of making what's already technically feasible universally available, let's take a look at what's next on the ed-tech horizon. Here are six emerging ed-tech trends I think could have a significant impact on schools and colleges in 2007.

Trend No. 1: The leveling power of the World Wide Web

Call it community-generated content, social networking, or--if you're a young technology company pitching yourself to venture capitalists--Web 2.0. Whatever you call it, it's the trend toward end-users, consumers, teachers, and students creating content for themselves and their peers. This self-generated content can be delivered in writing, in audio files, or in video clips.

No longer need you be a major motion picture studio to create a box-office smash. You don't need a radio station to be a popular disc jockey. You don't need a television network to create a video that can be seen literally by millions. Why, you don't even need a rich daddy anymore to become an overnight billionaire--or close to it.

Here's a $1.6 billion case in point: The three young men who founded YouTube.

YouTube, of course, is the internet site that allows anyone to watch or post videos, everything from stupid pet tricks to the president's State of the Union address. In February 2005, Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim--YouTube's founding trio--threw a dinner party here in San Francisco. They spent most of the evening shooting digital videos and photos of themselves. Next day, they wanted to post these to the internet. Well, posting the digital photos was no problem, but the three young men discovered it was nearly impossible to post their party videos.

Being resourceful lads and computer geeks, they had the problem whipped by the spring of last year. They created a site that let average computer-using videographers post their work without having to download special software. And so it was that the first 18-second YouTube video went up on the internet on April 23, 2005. The video shows Karim standing with elephants at the zoo. "The cool thing about these guys," intones the young narrator, referring to the elephants, "is that they have really, really, really long trunks. And that's cool. And that's pretty much all."

With those immortal words was YouTube launched. It was opened to the public several days later. Steve Chen was financing the startup with his credit cards.