It's been a while since I've posted, but I read today about the increase (40% over the last three years according to Fox News http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/12/us-public-schools-turn-to-digital-education/) of online classroom options for students in k-12 across the nation. Just to clarify, I'm an online instructor. But I teach at the college level. And for those students who tell me they are not prepared (such as having gaps in elementary concepts such as fractions and decimals, among others) I tell them they need to find a tutor who will help them personally through those topics.
Technology makes me happy. The options for technology are endless and, when used correctly, they can help students who need it. A student who is ill or has difficult circumstances should be allowed to explore these wonderful options. But John Smith who lives across the street? No. No, no, no, no, no, no.
That's not a general no by any means. Some options work for people. Home schooling is a great alternative. But we're talking about a mostly independent course of study for about 250,000 students and counting. Students are expected to learn material on their own and be responsible for their own learning. As it is, teachers have a hard time making students accountable when they see them face-to-face. How are they going to make them accountable when the student is home?
Money talks, yes, but why would we think only of the amount of money saved by these options versus the benefit to the students? These students are performing at a lower level on the most basic of assessments (in general). We're not talking about a great alternative that is improving performance. We're talking about an alternative that is helping the bottom line, damn the consequences.
Call me crazy, but we're not ready. Give me a virtual classroom equipped with cameras where I'm talking to my students and moving from screen to screen and giving them work in different "groups" through my virtual classrooms, and we're talking about a totally different world. One where I'm actually giving more time to my students and one-on-one help than I would in a classroom if the size of the "virtual" classroom is kept small. We'd still save money but we'd be having the same face-to-face options. There would be teaching involved, not just these mostly automated programs for students. I'm so scared about the level of education right now, I can't imagine what our doctors, nurses, IT people, and other professionals could possibly do without technology in their hands in the next 2-3 decades. Call me crazy one more time... I want professionals who can think without constantly using Google... Think your doctor will be able to do that in 20 years? I'm not so sure...
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Expectations
I guess I should have no expectations. But I do. Some things I just count on. But students don't seem to be expected to do anything. When I was a teacher, I was told by the administration not to expect students to complete homework. Now that I'm a professor, I'm told not to expect students to read the policies that explain what they need to complete. I'm also told not to expect students to submit their work on time... or to submit their work to the right place... or in the right format... or even the right assignment. But yet... I'm expected to be lenient and understanding about their circumstances. They have lives, you know. They're busy, so they didn't have time to read everything that gave them clear instructions on what they were supposed to do. Well folks, I expect adults can read, take the requisite 1 minute it takes to read the week's assignment box that explains what's due and where to submit it and just submit the right thing to the right place. I won't budge on that. You know why? Because if I can't expect my adult students to follow those simple instructions, how do you expect them to get their children to follow similar instructions in school? What kind of society are we raising and educating?
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Instructor-Free Higher Education
The debate for whether or not instructors are superfluous in online classes is alive and well. To read an interesting article on the topic, please go to http://www.facultymatters.com/summer11/technology-replace-faculty/.
But education is not just an individualistic experience. We learn much more than the topic at hand in college. We learn from other perspectives, add depth to our understanding by discussions and lectures, and through interactions with the instructor and students. A computer will never replace the knowledge that an expert in a specific field has. Think of the medical field. An individual learns through the experiences of others but also from experiences with patients, etc. Take away the human experience and you don't learn much of anything except what the book says. How many times have you found errors on a book, an online course, a website, etc? Artificial intelligence (AI) may be able to "help" you with that, but it won't be able to do much else.
Is education so one-dimensional now that we'd even consider getting rid of the human element? Are you one who remembers choosing instructors based on what you'd learned from other students and the philosophies they followed? Because I sure was. I wanted to learn, be challenged, and know that I could argue with instructors on the different philosophies and whether or not the tree outside really existed or was relative to those of us who saw it. Nobody will ever convince me that someone who doesn't have any instructors will know as much or have the depth of knowledge an instructor-led classroom can give. Maybe a hybrid course with AI and instructor would be "cool," but AI alone?!?
But education is not just an individualistic experience. We learn much more than the topic at hand in college. We learn from other perspectives, add depth to our understanding by discussions and lectures, and through interactions with the instructor and students. A computer will never replace the knowledge that an expert in a specific field has. Think of the medical field. An individual learns through the experiences of others but also from experiences with patients, etc. Take away the human experience and you don't learn much of anything except what the book says. How many times have you found errors on a book, an online course, a website, etc? Artificial intelligence (AI) may be able to "help" you with that, but it won't be able to do much else.
Is education so one-dimensional now that we'd even consider getting rid of the human element? Are you one who remembers choosing instructors based on what you'd learned from other students and the philosophies they followed? Because I sure was. I wanted to learn, be challenged, and know that I could argue with instructors on the different philosophies and whether or not the tree outside really existed or was relative to those of us who saw it. Nobody will ever convince me that someone who doesn't have any instructors will know as much or have the depth of knowledge an instructor-led classroom can give. Maybe a hybrid course with AI and instructor would be "cool," but AI alone?!?
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Where are the Arts?
Do we really believe a child will be well educated without music, fine arts, drama, and other creative classes? Are we neglecting part of their brains?
Yes, this is a short post, but I wish the government, both national and state, would realize the damage they are doing by focusing education so much on sciences, technology, and math.
Yes, this is a short post, but I wish the government, both national and state, would realize the damage they are doing by focusing education so much on sciences, technology, and math.
Friday, May 20, 2011
The Diminishing Role of Parents
I have heard so many teachers complain of the lack of parental involvement in their child's education. However, I have to wonder where that supposed lack of interest comes from. Parents have no say in the curriculum their child is given. You might think that's not something new. But it sort of is. In the past, at least in some schools, certain topics were at a parent's discretion. Whether or not a child participated in lessons about sexual conduct or even Evolution was up to the parent. Controversial topics were left to the parents.
Yet no matter what they think, they can't choose to hold their child back if they don't agree with the topic. So thinking from the outside, my perspective would be: If I can't do anything about it, why should I care. Maybe you don't think about it consciously, but people really do stop bothering with those things that are just not going to change. Why bother.
But it's not just the curriculum. In many schools, parents aren't even allowed to send the kid's lunch. You are not considered knowledgeable enough or smart enough to know what's good for your child.
So again, why bother?
Who's fault is it that parents are losing interest? I don't condone that parents not participate in the child's education, but if they are not expected to have an opinion, then is it surprising they subconsciously or consciously start detaching themselves?
Yet no matter what they think, they can't choose to hold their child back if they don't agree with the topic. So thinking from the outside, my perspective would be: If I can't do anything about it, why should I care. Maybe you don't think about it consciously, but people really do stop bothering with those things that are just not going to change. Why bother.
But it's not just the curriculum. In many schools, parents aren't even allowed to send the kid's lunch. You are not considered knowledgeable enough or smart enough to know what's good for your child.
So again, why bother?
Who's fault is it that parents are losing interest? I don't condone that parents not participate in the child's education, but if they are not expected to have an opinion, then is it surprising they subconsciously or consciously start detaching themselves?
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The Students Make a Difference
Education is not all bad. The system is lacking, sure, but the students can make a really awful situation seem possible. I've had the good fortune of having some of the most talented students go through my classroom. I've seen them grow, learn, cry, and laugh because of math. And I remember a group who told me the last day of class that they wouldn't agree with me that math was beautiful, but they'd admit it was sort of pretty.
Students make a classroom and the relationship between a teacher and those students is something I wouldn't give up, because it makes me grow as a human being.
To all my students, past and present: Thank you. From the depths of my soul, I appreciate everything I've learned from you.
Students make a classroom and the relationship between a teacher and those students is something I wouldn't give up, because it makes me grow as a human being.
To all my students, past and present: Thank you. From the depths of my soul, I appreciate everything I've learned from you.
Technology in the Classroom
Let me start this blog by saying I LOVE technology. Every toy I’ve ever loved had some sort of motion, action, talking, computerized games, or something similar. Barbies were boring as heck, since they didn’t DO anything. As an adult, I own more computers than I should (currently 3 + 1 from work and only because I recently gave away a desktop computer that was gathering dust), I love my iPhone, I love my Kindle, and I really, really love my digital SRL camera. I also have a design tablet so I can easily play with my photos. And I own a Wii and a Nintendo DS. You get the point. I love technology. I love games. And I really do love calculators.
But what’s the role of all that technology in the classroom?
Contrary to popular belief, I think technology use should be non-existent for grades Pre-K through 3rd grade, limited for 4th through 8th grades, and substantially used in high school for research purposes, but not abused.
As for calculators, I have long held a belief that you shouldn’t be using it to do anything you can’t do by hand. If you don’t understand how to do it, you shouldn’t be using the calculator to do it for you. Only AFTER you’ve learned the concepts should you delve into using a calculator. My high school students used to hate that I would teach them how to program something after I’d already tested them on it. But I do believe they needed to have the knowledge first. Their complaint was that if they could use the calculator to solve the system of equations, why in the world would they need to learn to do it? But see, calculators don’t come with that programmed. I taught them how to solve it, then we worked as a class to come up with a program to get the calculator to do it. See, if you now the work, then you can get technology to do almost anything. But if you don’t know how to do things, how are you supposed to program all that or use the technology appropriately?
As for cell phones, I think they have absolutely no place in the classroom. They are a distraction to children and adults alike. I go to meetings and find my concentration drifting to check my email, text messages, or even Facebook. I hate when others do it because it takes away from the productivity of the meeting and its effectiveness. So if it’s that hard for adults to stay on task, imagine what having a cell phone does to a kid. If it was hard to keep kids on task before, imagine with cell phones in the mix.
Lastly, there are other technology components that are really great when used appropriately. SmartBoards are useful for teachers to be able to print their notes for students, play with objects and move them around, and simply have much more dynamic and active classes. However, that only happens when the technology is used appropriately. It should not be used for the sake of technology but for the value add to the classroom experience of the students.
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