On Mon, Oct 25, 2004 at 05:18:38PM -0500, Geoff Strickler wrote: > Numerous studies have shown lecturing to be the least effective teaching > methodology
This is a loaded statement. Lecturing is unidirectional that asks nothing of the students. Once the teacher starts interacting with the students, even without the crutch of technology, you are doing something else. I would also be interested in seeing these studies. Part of the reason is for critical analysis, since I have real concerns about studies confusing novelty with effectiveness. I'm also curious about effective teaching methods. While I teach, I do so without a formal background in education. > One of the biggest advantages to the teachers is the ability to give quizes > that the students answer privately using a controller in their desks. I agree that this is one of the more interesting aspects of the system. It is, however, quite easy to implement without a $100,000 AV system. Or have you never had a teacher ask you to pull out a piece of paper to do a pop quiz. ;-) As for the private nature of learning, I learned something very quickly when I moved to the front of the classroom: you don't really know something until you are forced to express the ideas to somebody else. Multiple choice tests don't force you to express ideas. Given how student evaluations are handled today, even essays don't force you to express ideas clearly. (This is judging from how work is evaluated at the university level, and the quality of work I see from recent high school graduates.) > It does not decrease student/teacher interaction, the multi-media stuff is > used to supplement the teacher's presentation, not replace it. Baloney. The moment that school boards start equipping classrooms with $100,000 AV systems is the moment that class sizes start to grow. The money has to come from somewhere, and $100,000 amounts to a couple of teacher years. You would also have a tough time supporting that 10 to 20 year life span without adding considerable expenses for maintainance. > One of the things it can offer is interaction between classes, > even in other states or countries You have been able to do stuff like this for years, particularly via voice but even with video. I somehow doubt that the added dimension of online video streaming is going to do all that much. > I don't think this should replace computer labs in schools This would probably be a better investment than computer labs, since the class is an integrated unit. I have discussed technology in the classroom with a few high school students and have watched the reactionary response of university administrators. It seems as though there is a war, of sorts, between students who abuse the technology and staff who restrict its use. Curiously, this seems to have more to do with the internet than anything else. I certainly don't recall these problems with the standalone systems we had in my school days, and I was even encouraged in ways of mischief by my teachers because exploring the internals of an Apple II caused no harm. > Pricing is probably negotiable and would likely decrease significantly with > volume production. These systems have an expected life of 15-20 years, far > longer than the useful life of most computers and on par with the useful > life of textbooks. I would estimate that 15-20 years far longer than the expected life. The projector lamps would be impossible to replace within a decade, and they would only have a life of 5 years according to the wildly inflated figures from the manufacturer. The computer itself would have to be replaced every five to ten years, simply to ensure that the teachers can continue to develop multimedia content on their own machines and use it in the classroom. Many of the integrated AV components will be obsolete (DVD) even to the point of being irrelevant (VHS). If the past is any indication, much of the wiring would have to be replaced at some point. (VGA was around for 15 years, and it is currently being replaced by new standards). And who knows what else. Byron. -- Apple2list is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... / Buy books, CDs, videos, and more from Amazon.com \ / <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/lowendmac> \ Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Apple2list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/apple2.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/apple2list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
