When network laws are followed, learning and teaching are far less costly than in cash-devouring 20th century schools. Just for overall starters:
- One virtual textbook can serve essentially unlimited students while costing almost nothing — instead of costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, euros, yen, etc. only to be worn out and become obsolete very quickly.
- Talented, knowledgeable teachers can reach students far and wide who are seeking to benefit from their expertise — serving many more students than they can in a 20th century type classroom, and at no cost increase.
- Mobile devices that students own are multiples cheaper in device cost and maintenance than school based PCs — and the connectivity is both spreading and getting cheaper, FAST!
Education needs re-tooling to engage the virtual world of knowledge. There are at least these pieces of very good news about that:
- The knowledge students will learn is already online, and more accurate and up-to-date there than in older school resources like textbooks and overworked subject teachers.
- Connected learning will save billions in current education spending — some of which can redirected to setting up open knowledge network access for all students, and to providing them with mobile computers. For starters, we could freeze any further spending on printed textbooks, which would save school systems and students billions.
October 9th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
There are also huge differences between being taught a course by an experienced teacher compared to a new teacher. The first time a teacher teaches a course, students really suffer if the teacher can’t distinguish between teaching everything poorly or teaching the most important material really well.
October 9th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
October 15th, 2008 at 9:38 am
The economic downturn is making people from all areas of life evaluate what is being done and how. And on the education side, the hit of an economic downturn will cause a good deal of replanning for how technology is used. I think that some will want to scale back, but others, like Alberdine Christian University, will embrace and accelerate change.
Which in the end needs to happen, especially on the side of relevant educational tools and processes to skillfully equip current and future generations.