Evolution Must Be Taught in Public Schools

[Overdog]

Originally Posted by ldsoftwaresteve

My approach to the problem is basically from two different directions: automating specific courses and individualizing the experience (taking the learning experience out of the classroom setting). And by automating specific courses, I mean allow immediate interaction by the student with the course. The subject should be taught in as many ways as we can identify learning methods. This is an area that I presume is being studied? Each course should be analyzed second by second and interactive branching should be under control of the student. They should be able to halt the subject and ask for a breadkown of the concepts being covered at any moment in time and then ask for clarification if there is a weakness in an area. The tools to do this for the course creators are what is key here.

I invite you to examine the Online Academy thoroughly, because this is exactly what it does.

The Online Academy - How it Works

EDIT:
Sorry I missed your specific question...

"This is an area that I presume is being studied?"

Yes, my wife has spent much of her adult life studying it, and the Online Academy is one of the results.

[ldsoftwaresteve]

Originally Posted by Overdog

I invite you to examine the Online Academy thoroughly, because this is exactly what it does.

The Online Academy - How it Works

EDIT:
Sorry I missed your specific question...

"This is an area that I presume is being studied?"

Yes, my wife has spent much of her adult life studying it, and the Online Academy is one of the results.

Why thank you overdog. I have looked at it and my son is looking at it too. Very nice to know. Thanks.

[ldsoftwaresteve]

We're still checking it out. To give you an example of the kind of competition your wife would be up against if this was all free market driven, I've recently been studying microcomputers and finding out that there are some pretty big players out there. And they all want you to use their stuff. Development kits are damn near free and they'll even subsidize the price of chips and compilers for students. They have online 'webinars' and the quality differs between companies. Intel even has a web page that allows actual development and testing over the web without plugging hardware into your PC. So, the race for this type of teaching appears to be live and well. One company will try to outdo the other, etc. and the list of subjects they cover is expanding daily from interfacing a changing amperage sensor with a microprocessor to assembler language on a high end processor.

My son just responded: "yea i think you need to get a book to explain everything, this website just seems to have questions about the stuff you learn. So wouldnt it pretty much be the same as doing questions in a book?"

He also told me that one thing he read told him to read pages 1 - 20 in your textbook."

I suspect that it was because he was looking at a sample course. However, if they are still in textbooks, paper textbooks, I don't see it being able to respond very quickly to changing requirements. But at least it's a step in the right direction.

[Overdog]

Originally Posted by ldsoftwaresteve

We're still checking it out. To give you an example of the kind of competition your wife would be up against if this was all free market driven, I've recently been studying microcomputers and finding out that there are some pretty big players out there. And they all want you to use their stuff. Development kits are damn near free and they'll even subsidize the price of chips and compilers for students. They have online 'webinars' and the quality differs between companies. Intel even has a web page that allows actual development and testing over the web without plugging hardware into your PC. So, the race for this type of teaching appears to be live and well. One company will try to outdo the other, etc. and the list of subjects they cover is expanding daily from interfacing a changing amperage sensor with a microprocessor to assembler language on a high end processor.

My son just responded: "yea i think you need to get a book to explain everything, this website just seems to have questions about the stuff you learn. So wouldnt it pretty much be the same as doing questions in a book?"

He also told me that one thing he read told him to read pages 1 - 20 in your textbook."

I suspect that it was because he was looking at a sample course. However, if they are still in textbooks, paper textbooks, I don't see it being able to respond very quickly to changing requirements. But at least it's a step in the right direction.

Students who are taking these Online Academy courses are introduced to a Mentor (teacher). The students and Mentors work together online usually via chat software, but are not limited to that. It isn't the typical computer based training...the kids are working with a real teacher, with whom they can communicate one-on-one, and interact with in real time as they do the work. That's the key differentiator.

[ldsoftwaresteve]

I like the concept overdog. Now, if students could opt out of High School and choose the online version it would be better than what it is now. the money that would go to the highschool would instead go to the online school. And that money could be used to improve the courseware. If people had a way to create courses and add them to the program, that would even be better. Like an opensource library with specific tools available for adding your own courses to the library.

And subjects like I.D. could be selected as optional. omg is that going to get hammered. lol.

And let me guess, her solution is getting attacked because "the schools won't have enough money to stay running if everyone can just stay home and study at their own pace".

I once saw a televised symposium on home schooling where the pros and cons were discussed by professional educators. One lady stood up and asked, "Well, if everyone home schools, what will happen to the teachers?".
Your wife's solution will allow them to become mentors and at least transition to a different career. But I think the lady's question hit one of the problems right on the head: the schools are for the children, not the teachers. Too many people don't understand that.

Please pass on my compliments to your wife.

[Overdog]

Originally Posted by ldsoftwaresteve

I like the concept overdog. Now, if students could opt out of High School and choose the online version it would be better than what it is now. the money that would go to the highschool would instead go to the online school. And that money could be used to improve the courseware. If people had a way to create courses and add them to the program, that would even be better. Like an opensource library with specific tools available for adding your own courses to the library.

Yes...but it's a long and difficult road to get there, if we ever do. Lot's of politics and economic challenges, all the way down to the local level, get in the way. No state or federal agency was willing to fund it. She had to, on her own, convince multiple school districts to help. It isn't a money-maker at this point, is another problem. Of course, it was never intended to be, but in the end, projects like this ultimately have to be self-sustaining, just like anything else. It won the governor's award, but did it get any new funding from the state? No. And the Patent application was turned down. Why? Apparently you can't patent something like this.

It is discouraging how many obstacles there are that must to be overcome to make something innovative like this available to kids.

And let me guess, her solution is getting attacked because "the schools won't have enough money to stay running if everyone can just stay home and study at their own pace".

I don't think it would ever be able to do that without major federal backing.

I once saw a televised symposium on home schooling where the pros and cons were discussed by professional educators. One lady stood up and asked, "Well, if everyone home schools, what will happen to the teachers?".
Your wife's solution will allow them to become mentors and at least transition to a different career. But I think the lady's question hit one of the problems right on the head: the schools are for the children, not the teachers. Too many people don't understand that.

Yes, it presents a great opportunity for retireing baby-boomers teachers to become part-time Mentors. Right now it's mainly graduate students and teachers donated by the collaborating school districts that are helping support the program.

Please pass on my compliments to your wife.

I will, Thanks.

EDIT:

I forgot to mention, the Online Academy is available to any student in the US. It's not limited to Virginia. I just talked to my wife about our discussion, feel free to contact her if you are interested....

[ldsoftwaresteve]

well, she's in a battle against a fallacy and that fallacy has created so many blindspots .... and it eventually gets back to the entire study of the Humanities: What it means to be human, what is the nature of morality and how motivation is tied to all of it. Because the achilles heel of her enemies is that they have no functioning model of what it means to be human. I think that if we could pull that string, all the bullshit would fall apart.

[nutronjon]

I think humanity is far better off with a scientific explanation of the human condition. I think this is very important to our legal system which remains dominated by Christian notions of good and evil and is far from based in good science. I think given the human brain continues to develop until the human reaches age 25, means we should not recognize persons under 25 as adults.

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by nutronjon

I think given the human brain continues to develop until the human reaches age 25, means we should not recognize persons under 25 as adults.

Can you provide some support for this claim nutronjon?

[Eclogite]

Originally Posted by nutronjon

I think given the human brain continues to develop until the human reaches age 25, means we should not recognize persons under 25 as adults.

And since it almost immediately begins to deteriorate we should not consider those older than twenty five to be competent to engage in logical thought. Let the world be ruled exclusively by those who are twenty five.

It is a brilliant idea nutronjon. I would vote in favour of it, but I am well past my Sell By date and declare myself inelligible.