Computer Based Learning Continued

To add a little meat to this idea:

• Students haul mountains of textbooks
• they are expensive
• they become outdated rather quickly
• they consume paper and other resources un-necessarily
• they’re heavy.  Students haul this junk around in backpacks which ultimately detracts from the learning experience.
• Teachers are tasked with preparing for the next lesson plan and grading students and have a mandate to elevate average test scores by giving attention to the dolts rather than those who are more gifted and could otherwise excel.
• this has been going on a long time. I usually lunch with a couple who were teachers for a few decades and who testify that this is the way it’s been for a long time – 30-40 years just by their experience.
• they are tasked with preparing for the lessons
• they must distribute, manage and grade tests
• they must get those test scores into a database
• they often deal with idiot parents who think their child should get straight A’s
• they often grade tests while they should be teaching
• as mentioned, they ignore the intelligent students and spend their time with the dolts in order to get their school averages up to satisfy morons in DC
• they are not all of an exceptional skill level.  In fact, many are dolts themselves and some are down right certifiable.  Again, this statement comes from teachers who are friends of mine and more than just the two mentioned above.

Contrast the above with computer based learning. 

• Each student is assigned an iPad that remains on school property.  Students log onto the internet to take their lessons and tests and can proceed at the level/speed in which they are capable.
• scratch textbooks, obsolescence, and all the physical nonsense associated with hard materials.  Note that the business world abandoned this paradigm decades ago!  The school environment is long overdue to get in step with today’s technology.
• scratch teachers creating lesson plans
• scratch teachers grading tests
• scratch uploading those scores to a database
• scratch parents demanding their child get straight A’s (The computer is impartial and facts are facts)
• as suggested above, personalities are removed from the learning environment to a large degree
• they and their parents can log into the system on their home computers and continue or catch up on lessons and parents who care can go over their child’s tests and details with them at home.

The money saving potential is huge.  The learning potential is huge. Exceptional students no longer have to be chained to the lowest common denominators of the class.

As Arby commented in the last post, there are some subjects that this would work well for and some not so much. I agree.  Subjects like math and science are perfect and other subjects like history would benefit from group discussion and teacher led conceptualizing. 

This paradigm shift is Long overdue in coming.  It’s like schools are stuck in an environment that business worked in pre-computer.  Hand typing General Ledgers, doing inventory management off of scraps of paper littered through the physical inventory, etc.

Additionally, school administrations and teachers unions are completely out of hand.  One might say Insanely out of hand.

Teacher union members, it seems to some degree, are even more rabid than UAW members.  Yes, of course there are many fine sane teachers, but damn, there are a bunch of them who are absolutely postal over this recession/depression we are in and how it is going to affect them.  They demand to remain in a good ship lollipop world where they don’t have to contribute to their Generous health care plans and pensions AND continue to get raises every year.  That’s insane.

The union Head actually sent an email to all the teachers in her local in New Jersey asking them to pray for Chris Christie’s death (Chris Christie is the governor of New Jersey of course)

I’ve been listening to teachers calling into radio talk shows that have not the slightest problem demanding that we the taxpayer in the private sector, who have not had raises in 5 years or more, decreases in benefits, and have been feeling the effects of the recession/depression in our personal lives, should somehow be made exempt from same by having US pay more taxes to keep them in the lap of luxury that was created by economic boom bubbles that simply don’t exist anymore.  That’s insane. 

I’ve got news for those people.  I’ll fight to my last breath to make sure that doesn’t happen as will ever other private sector taxpayer I know.  Additionally, the Money Isn’t Available.  Even if we wanted to, the Money Isn’t Available. 

As a result, you have states like New Jersey and Wisconsin (and this is just the start) who are now forced to make you people live on the same planet as the rest of us by forcing you to either contribute to your pension pans and health plans or be fired.  Get used to the idea.  Cause things are only going to get worse over the next couple years.  This year, we’ve got massive food price inflation and we’ll probably have 4 dollar gas, if not 5 and probably will have 5 dollar gas in 2012 because of all you libtards who think the world can run on Unicorn Shit. It can’t.  And the price of gas will affect the price of everything else because it takes gas and diesel fuel to get it all those products to within a few blocks of where you live.

If you think We are going to pay to keep you on some economic pedestal, you are out of your minds.  And things are going to get worse before they get better.  I honestly think the pain is just starting. Sorry.

You better see the writing on the wall.  The gravy train is over and you should be thankful you had it so good for so long and should have saved for this rainy day.

I think the governor of Wisconsin should warn the teachers who are camped out at the capitol that they are state employees and they have X amount of time (short) to return to work or be fired and replaced.  Just like Reagan did with the Air Traffic Controllers.  They and the Democrat legislature of Wisconsin are all acting like a bunch of spoiled babies.