We need to re-evaluate the educational system in this country. As we like to say, it’s time to stop talking, and do something. We especially need to allow our teachers to integrate technology into their classrooms to help them teach. The unions are holding back technology, afraid that it might produce better results and that we may end up with fewer teachers.
But let’s take a moment to examine this. There’s nothing wrong with creating a PowerPoint or entertaining presentation featuring several teachers (or a lesson plan built with and presented using similar software) and using that to educate. After a lesson like that, teachers could go back to individual classrooms and discuss what they just learned and the student can go home and see it again on the computer.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that brick-and-mortar schools are going to become obsolete if we don’t do something. There are social reasons for keeping them but growing resistance to the idea, including from teachers and parents. The idea makes even more sense for college students, and the costs are likely to be much less for an education than it would be at a traditional school. For very little money, we can teach children from grade school through college.
I think it needs to be a healthy blend though. We don’t want to become so technology driven that we become robots ourselves. But we do need to increase and take full advantage of technology and teaching. We just need to keep the brick and mortar aspect alive and well. This is for the social aspect. Children need to learn interpersonal skills and social accountability. There are lots of intramural sports and social outreach structured for home-schooled kids. They need to be in real life situations where they are able to develop their cognitive, coping and problem-solving skills. This is how we learn to become productive members of society, build healthy relationships and enjoy life.
Game developers are well aware of how to incentivize people to continue gaming. Those same principles can be applied to learning programs, which can revolutionize schools by freeing teachers and students of some of the drudgery and/or confusion, as each student works at their own pace. Then teachers could work with the students who need help.
But the article above makes a great point about needing social training as well. I want someone working with/for me who can regulate their emotions, get along well with others, and is creative, honest, and hard working. I’ll take that over a PhD any day. And that isn’t likely to be taught by algorithms any time soon.