Do E-Readers Spell the Demise Of Traditional Schooling? 301
Attila Dimedici writes "I came across a an article this morning that suggests that the Nook and the Kindle have changed things in such a way that schools are becoming obsolete. His premise is that the ideal way to teach children is by a tutor ..., [and] the Nook and the Kindle have allowed large amounts of written material on many different subjects to become accessible enough that parents can tutor their children at a price that just about everyone can afford."
The author is a bit off-base on the nature of the public schooling,
but easy access to resources like Project Gutenberg and Wikibooks certainly removes some
barriers to self-study and the limitations of the 20+ child classroom.
Re:TFA is flamebait (Score:4, Interesting)
I think your child also learns better with someone who is not his parent. I see the kinds of things my son is capable of learning from third parties when I can't get him to tie his shoes without an argument and it only reinforces this.
I wish I could afford a personal tutor but then again their are social aspects of school, even the negative ones, that teach lessons at least as valuable as some of the academic ones.
Math and Science ? No Chance. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Nothing can replace that human touch, nothing! (Score:4, Interesting)
This type of course cannot be properly delivered via 10" screens. Nothing can replace that face to face human touch.
Could you expand upon this, like maybe a "why"? People who already agree with you will see it as preaching to the choir, people who don't, like myself, are mystified.
Is it a resolution thing like you cannot read the blackboard for video lectures? Language barrier?
Note I took discrete math a decade or so ago from a genuine professor (not a TA) and I also enjoyed it greatly, but I can't understand what mysterious force would intercede were a camera and TV placed in my line of sight.
It sounds like the biological concept of vitalism, or perhaps the catholic concept of bishops laying on hands down thru the ages when a new priest is made. I don't subscribe to magickal thought that merely placing silicon and glass in my line of sight would have ruined my experience.
Electronic tutors; eTutors (Score:4, Interesting)
Games and A.Is which teach kids best according to their abilities using the most effective teaching strategies, backed up by human teachers.
Motivation is a problem, but it's a problem with kids sitting at desks in schools.
http://homepages.gold.ac.uk/polovina/learnpyramid/about.htm [gold.ac.uk]
I'm not sure I'd call what we have just now as "providing education".
Re:Sureeeeee (Score:3, Interesting)
The current system involves in-class lectures, with homework done at home. If you switch that, have the students watch lectures as homework, and solve problems in class, the teacher (and other students) are actually available when the students need them most - while trying to solve the problems. It also allows greater flexibility for the students to "learn at their own pace" - students will have more options as to which lectures to watch rather than the whole class forced to watch the same lecture at the same time.
I could go on, but I think these guys discuss it much more concisely than I do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtmdiPUGGe8 [youtube.com]
Re:Sureeeeee (Score:4, Interesting)
There's no such thing as a video tutorial, or at least most things that claim to be such are actually lectures. A tutorial is an interactive discussion between a teacher and a small number of students.
Yes, it can be done via intermessengers and skypecams, but it requires considerably more manpower (and skilled manpower at that) than The Teaching Company's[1] "shoot & 'bute" model.
[1] This not an insult to TTC; I've found some of their material to be entertaining and informative. But when I put my hand up to ask a question the prof never picks me.
Yeah, right!? (Score:5, Interesting)
Asinine.
The author has a serious problem with public school teachers that borders on the obsessive, and clouds all reasonable discussion with him on this subject, it would seem.
The problem in schooling isn't teacher salaries, administrative overhead, the cost of school construction, etc. it really has to do with the basics (and while I'm no fan of public school teachers, they are but one piece of a much bigger puzzle).
We've had free lending libraries since the time of Franklin, and to imagine that by somehow taking books off a shelf and injecting them into a shiny electronic device will somehow get kids to read and read and read for 5-10 years is just silly.
Homeschooling is not a new phenomenon, it's how people used to learn things. People homeschool their children for many reasons, teacher salaries isn't typically the main reason - either because the parents want a faith-based education for their children, or they feel the public schools wouldn't benefit their child, OR the parents simply think they "know better", which may or may not be true.
There are many, many subjects that require more than simply "reading a book, writing an essay" to impart mastery. I'm reminded of the scene in Good Will Hunting where Robin William's character dresses down Matt Damon's character and explains "living a life" as opposed to reading about other people's lives in books.
Something is entirely different now! (Score:5, Interesting)
Back when I was in school, if you had a book in your house when you went to sleep, it was still there when you woke up.