CNN just finished an excellent town hall type summit on education called Education Nation.
http://www.educationnation.com/I watched one of the teachers at the summit talk about one of his students. His principle had told him that he would never have to see her. The girl who has leukemia was not allowed to attend school but was required by the school district to be signed up. The teacher went to see the student and set up Skype so she could attend and participate in classes.
This fourth grade class made a video of their classmate and the video which can be viewed at this site received a million views.
http://learningismessy.com/blog/?p=196Many students think this is the future of education.
http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/pdfs/Stu...Education costs are the major cost of State budgets and because of the fiscal crisis school districts are required to lay off teachers and reduce class size. We spend more on education than most other countries in the world yet our students do poorly in comparison. How can we bring costs down and at the same time increase the quality of education?
When I taught, I noticed that it took only one or two "Problem Students" or students with discipline problems to disrupt the entire classroom and make it difficult for anyone to learn. I daydreamed about kicking out these problem kids like the private schools did, so we had nothing but kids interested in learning. What if we kicked out the problem kids but allowed them to attend classes and get assignments via Skype so they would learn but not disrupt?
A lot of kids drop out of school because of bullying, harassment, or embarrassment that they can't compete or keep up. Many more students attend class but they are not really there to learn. Many kids don't really wake up till noon, others can't pay attention because they are hungry. Some are bored, some are confused, and many more are only interested in flirting or in socializing with friends. Could they attend school or listen to recorded lectures from home when the time is right for them?
Skype is good but Avatars are better. Research indicates that kids learn better from other kids than they do from teachers. An Avatar would present a non threatening non intimidating presence that a student would respond to with more openness.
http://www.squidoo.com/vokiIf hooked up to an artificial intelligence or just a good learning program, avatars of both the student and the teacher, could provide an education that wouldn't be nearly as intimidating and kids would learn more, be constantly challenged and be able to work at their own timescale. Wouldn't it be nice if kids learned that education was fun. Wouldn't it be nice if all students were constantly challenged in subjects that they were interested in?
http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/classro...I have a friend going to school to be a nurse. Her first semester she had to pay $600 for textbooks! I think that is insane! Why can't textbooks be on line, so all students can access them on laptops or pads? That would save a lot of money. What about the crowded schools? Wouldn't it make sense to allow many students to work at home, at different times of the day? Bill Gates thinks that within five years the best education will take place on line.
http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/06/bill-ga...