Test scores are plummeting while tens of billions in federal aid flows to schools. A visit to a recent education technology convention provides a glimpse of the frenzy to profit from the recovery efforts.
We don’t need more technology in schools. We need more time and to pay teachers more so we can attract the best people to the field. Technology can’t solve everything and our educational system has been under attack for at least 30 years. You wanna fix education? Fund it like the military.
You wanna fix education? Fund it like the military.
My mom had a tote bag that said “I want to live in a world where schools have all the money they need and the air force needs to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.”
Ok. I guess we should keep throwing tech at the problem. It’s worked so well so far as we can see by our students just crushing the rest of the world academically. /s
Also, did you just post an opinion piece written by yourself as a source to back yourself up?
Sorry for my miswriting of my reply; what I meant is that I agree and had expressed related concerns in another community, hence the link. Not backing myself up, just expressing my opinion :) Not only should we not throw more tech at the problem, but I think we should rethink about what we do without the tech.
I’m not saying tech doesn’t have a place. Obviously we shouldn’t go back to drawing things in dirt with a stick. But we’ve tried EVERYTHING except for what would make a significant improvement: the best teachers and more time in the classroom.
Because you can’t trust kids and teenagers. Most people will lack motivation to actually study and finish the courses, people need tutors and exams to get things done or provide more explanation to people that don’t understand things.
Some people are guessing chatbots could pose as a tutor but I still don’t think that’s a solution.
There is roughly zero percent chance I would have paid any attention to online lectures/classes when I was in grade school or high school. I couldn’t even pay attention to online classes during grad school trying to get my Masters. I already didn’t do my homework or study for tests in school, so the only way I learned was from being in person and listening to the teacher. If I would have been expected to get most of my learning from online courses, I would be in a very different place in life right now.
Not to mention that people forget School is a social playground too. Education is only one part of it, making friends and dealing with the many situations that come your way is what makes people grow up. It’s scary that some kids would learn in front of a computer rather than in a class.
We don’t need more technology in schools. We need more time and to pay teachers more so we can attract the best people to the field. Technology can’t solve everything and our educational system has been under attack for at least 30 years. You wanna fix education? Fund it like the military.
My mom had a tote bag that said “I want to live in a world where schools have all the money they need and the air force needs to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.”
Indeed, no point in throwing technology at something that has some basic flaws to be fixed first (I expressed something similar here).
Ok. I guess we should keep throwing tech at the problem. It’s worked so well so far as we can see by our students just crushing the rest of the world academically. /s
Also, did you just post an opinion piece written by yourself as a source to back yourself up?
Sorry for my miswriting of my reply; what I meant is that I agree and had expressed related concerns in another community, hence the link. Not backing myself up, just expressing my opinion :) Not only should we not throw more tech at the problem, but I think we should rethink about what we do without the tech.
But resources like Coursera and EdX are incredible - why not let the best educators make courses like that and then teach millions of students?
It also allows them to have a freer syllabus.
I’m not saying tech doesn’t have a place. Obviously we shouldn’t go back to drawing things in dirt with a stick. But we’ve tried EVERYTHING except for what would make a significant improvement: the best teachers and more time in the classroom.
Yeah, it’s just not clear how scalable that is.
Because you can’t trust kids and teenagers. Most people will lack motivation to actually study and finish the courses, people need tutors and exams to get things done or provide more explanation to people that don’t understand things.
Some people are guessing chatbots could pose as a tutor but I still don’t think that’s a solution.
There is roughly zero percent chance I would have paid any attention to online lectures/classes when I was in grade school or high school. I couldn’t even pay attention to online classes during grad school trying to get my Masters. I already didn’t do my homework or study for tests in school, so the only way I learned was from being in person and listening to the teacher. If I would have been expected to get most of my learning from online courses, I would be in a very different place in life right now.
Not to mention that people forget School is a social playground too. Education is only one part of it, making friends and dealing with the many situations that come your way is what makes people grow up. It’s scary that some kids would learn in front of a computer rather than in a class.