Back To School Electronically

http://wmbriggs.com/blog/?p=2793 ^ | William M. Briggs

[mattstat]

Thanks to computers—those modern saviors of mankind!—students returning to campus this fall needn’t return at all. Yes, sir: they will be able to “attend” class by staying home, ready to learn, while nestled securely in their rooms.

There they will “engage” electronically amidst the comforts of loud, mind-numbing, rotten music, ready access to Facebook, endless supplies of food, the companionship of friends and family, and so forth. Familiar surroundings produce a “better learning environment.”

No more for them the dreariness of the “‘frontal’ presentation“, it’s time to “reverse the ‘lecture-homework paradigm’“. Let’s get those kids out of class to do what they do best: click buttons on screens.

If this shift from analog to digital is an advantage for students, it’s a positive boon to professors, whose roles are being “reprogrammed.” According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, New York University has worked out a formula which shows that if professors banish their lectures and other teaching material to the hard drive, they will have more time to teach!

Make sure you understand this: since a professor need no longer stand in front of a classroom because his students will be elsewhere downloading virtual copies of him, he will actually be able to teach more. This must be true because it found its way into a peer-review paper. Left unclear is exactly whom he professor will be teaching, since his classrooms will either be empty or full of students clacking away on their laptops.

Dalton Conley, NYU’s Dean of Social Sciences, says that NYU shouldn’t have to...

[fatnotlazy]

I’d want to get the kiddies out of class if only to limit their exposure to liberal professors who would indoctrinate, rather than teach.

[jmcenanly]

I have been taking a few course on-line from MIT.http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/most-visited-courses/
I can set my own schedule , and with the E -nounce program, I can fit more classes into an hour
http://www.enounce.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&category_id=1&page=shop.browse&Itemid=61&vmcchk=1&Itemid=100

[wintertime]

Another advantage is that the professor and his course content will be available for all of society to see. That should put the brakes on much of the indoctrination.

[mom4melody]

I take classes online. I still have to interact with other classmates, listen to lectures, and do mountains of homework.

It’s not easy. In fact, it requires a great deal of self control and time management.

BTW, I made the Honor Society with a 3.7 average. Totally rubbed it in my college kids faces too.

[SonOfDarkSkies]

If you haven’t already, check out Prof Walter Lewin’s courses on physics. He is an incredible professor...now available to the world, not just MIT students.

[NoExpectations]

Thank you so much for posting the MIT sight. I have a number of geeks in my family that I’m sure will be very interested!!

[SonOfDarkSkies]

I’d want to get the kiddies out of class if only to limit their exposure to liberal professors who would indoctrinate, rather than teach.

And think of the money it saves on buildings and maintenance. And the ability for students to progress at their own rate.

Of course, Obama will want none of this because it might weaken the government's and union's death grip on education.

[AdaGray]

Uh oh. Bads news for angry lefty profs. No more off the cuff propaganda.

[AFreeBird]

This will never work. Without classrooms, there is no need for buildings, campuses. Without the need for a campus, there’s no need for endowments to build buildings to stroke the egos of wealthy alumni.

[nolongerademocrat]

“I’d want to get the kiddies out of class if only to limit their exposure to liberal professors who would indoctrinate, rather than teach.”

I feel the same way about everything from kindergarten through college graduation. Think about it, we wouldn’t have to worry about pedophiles at school, bullies, racists, cliques, gangs, drugs, liberals etc. I think we should do away with schools entirely at this point and let parents be totally in control of their own children’s exposure.

There are plenty of opportunities for socialization in “social” settings.

[fatnotlazy]

“There are plenty of opportunities for socialization in “social” settings.”

***

Thank you. I’m not a home schooler, but I’ve heard that among the arguments against home schooling is the supposed lack of development of social skills among the home schooled. Personally, I think that’s a load of krap. For those who don’t fit in, this supposed socialization at school can be a nightmare. Far better, I think, to be in the more nurturing environment of home — among friends and family who are like minded and accept you as you are — instead of being thrown into artificial situations where a person can be abused for not following some arbitrary and restrictive social code.

[nolongerademocrat]

I agree.