On 08/09/2005, at 11:24 AM, Andreas Boehmer [Addictive Media] wrote:
But you have to agree it is much easier to stay up-to-date if you
work in
the field every day and actually practically implement new
technologies. If
a company looks for new staff members they will think twice before
employing
somebody who has got no practical experience in the field. For a
good reason
- you might have read a book about it, but you don't know it until
you have
done it. Teachers at University/Tafe/Highschool do not have the
opportunity
to try out what they learn, yet they still have to stand infront of
the
students confidently and teach them an ever-changing technology.
That's
bloody hard!
Developers learn something in theory, try it out practically, and
if it
doesn't work they will keep on trying as the go along until they
understand
it. Maybe I am just a practical kind of person, but that's the way
I see it.
On the other hand, even when I was working as a freelance developer
and often flat to the boards trying to meet a deadline, I still made
an effort to put aside some time each day to read up on the latest
ideas and techniques and try to put them into practise is a private
sandbox. When I couldn't make them work, I wrote to lists like this
one and asked advice. When I finally had then nutted out and
understood them, then I could put them into practise in future projects.
I can't see why it wouldn't be the same for teachers. I mean, English
and Literature teachers need to read the texts they will be taking
their class through so that they are familiar with the material. When
the way of approaching mathematics changed (my mother has told some
highly amusing anecdotes about being a student during the shift to
"new maths" back in the late 60s/early 70s) all the maths teachers
would have had to go out and learn the new approach and new
techniques so they could teach their students. Why can't the same be
said of Web Development teachers?
Cheers,
Seona.
******************************************************
The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/
See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm
for some hints on posting to the list & getting help
******************************************************
