Only a few possibilities have been explored compared to what is possible. I see a future where the learners are in control and use computers to explore, understand, and create. And the software is capable of providing substantial help to the learner by providing a range of learning tools that include demos, interactive game-like tutorials, puzzles, animated help characters, and more. I see computers also providing social support for learning in the form of email, discussion groups, chat sessions, and eventually shared virtual spaces. In the longer term I see software becoming more capable and starting to act more like a personal tutor.
Computer programming is a new kind of extension of thinking.
Just as paper and pencil enables one to think differently by providing an extension of your memory and by providing a way to organize and communicate your thoughts in ways that are fundamentally different than pure verbal communication, I think computational media provides new ways of thinking. One doesn't merely express an idea in computer language but can also have the computer realize the idea - turning the student's ideas into running simulations, interactions, games, computations, or whatever. The recent book Changing Minds - Computers, Learning, and Literacy by Andrea diSessa explores this idea of computational literacy in great depth. And because of ToonTalk's game-like playful nature, it is very appealing to most children. This appeal is particularly important to motivate the children before they become sufficiently expert that the challenges and rewards of programming provides its own intrinsic rewards.