The only classrooms that will be made irrelevant are the bad ones in which professors simply stand at the front, lecture, and ask "does any one have any questions?"
Classrooms and laboratories that encourage student participation and require hands-on activity will never be made irrelevant.
If human contact was that unimportant, then nerdy 14 year olds would stay home and play Halo with each other over the internet instead of sitting on the floor sharing a bowl of Flaming Hot Cheetos.
Humans are social creatures. They like to hang out together, whether its learning, playing, or working.
One solution would be for universities to offer a CIS degree track that carries teacher certification.
Right now, I don't know of any schools where you can get an education degree in computer science or information systems. As a result, you get people teaching IT/CIS who have their primary training in another field.
Like the coaches who get stuck teaching social studies because they need to fill time, some IT teachers are the English teachers or Librarians who get thrown into the computer classroom because they are really good with Google or know how to change themes in PowerPoint.
Themes aren't the same as a customizable UI, though. Most themes I've seen simply change the size and color of the buttons. The underlying functionality is the same.
Also, iTunes has had a fair bit of improvement through 3rd party apps and extensions, so saying that iTunes is a one-trick/one-flavor pony doesn't really do the iTunes community justice.
Maybe I'm missing something obvious here, but who's going to be living in the house?
I'd write the software for whatever that person uses. If there's not a specific person, then I'd write software based on the platform market share in your area.
Chances are that your employer won't exist in 25 years; chances are also good that if they do, you won't work there anymore. Just find something cheap, make your boss happy, and get a raise. Seriously, what is the purpose of digital image storage for 25 years in a vault? Is there a possibility of thinking outside the box and suggest to your superiors that you do something, um...feasible?
The biggest stumbling block seems to be the size of the hand. There's a limit to how small a keyboard can be, so miniaturization may rely on voice recognition or some other input scheme.
I'm in favor of it, but I think full disclosure would be necessary. If that were the case, I think we'd see a rapid decline in doping. What would you rather do, win with the world knowing you used steroids to do it, or come in a clean second?
Ah yes...I remember testing a couple of Performas and an LC 520. I happily let Apple know that the Performa series was indeed crap and gave them several hundred bucks to help offset their costs.
This is exactly why I went with MobileMe, and since I also use Apple's Backup software, I have my data in three places - the MobileMe server, my Mac, and my personal backup.
The biggest problem I see is with large amounts of data. Some of the work I do is audio, and MobileMe isn't a great solution for lots of Logic files - that just stays on my external, but for the average user's personal and light work stuff, MobileMe seems fine. (Until Google adds backup to Google Desktop, which I wouldn't be surprised to see at some point.)
They could also do something like Google and sell hardware OS boxes that companies could "subscribe" to. That might at least alleviate some privacy/security fears.
Or maybe that would be too much like an Exchange server license. I've yet to meet an Exchange server admin who liked his job and wasn't worried about security.
The science teachers at the middle school where I taught noticed a couple of problems:
First, they're required to cover an enormous amount of material according to a timeline (due to standardized testing and NCLB requirements.) This means if a class gets really interested in something like Astronomy, that's just tough, because you only get three weeks and then you have to move on to the next unit. Alternatively, if you have a class that hates Astronomy, you can't modify the curriculum to recapture their interest or move on because the material "has to be covered."
The other problem is that very little science is actually done. Lab experiments are heavily scripted and lack any of the mystery associated with figuring things out, and an disproportionate amount of time is spent on safety procedure and lab write-ups. I realize that safety is important and that writing papers is what real scientists have to do to get tenure and grants, but when you spend 10 minutes looking through the microscope and 110 minutes on microscope safety and drawing pictures of plant cells that you've already seen on page 94 of the textbook, the exercise feels pointless, whether you're 8, 15, or 40.
I think it's the type of parental involvement that matters, not the amount.
Having taught middle school, all I really wanted or needed from parents was for them to provide a home environment that was structured and promoted good discipline.
Interestingly enough, I also wanted the same from the administration and government - structure and discipline. My principal ran the school somewhat chaotically - clear procedures weren't in place for things like equipment/materials purchasing and field trip scheduling, and she had a habit of changing things without much notice (spirit days and other special events.)
Five faculty quit with me last year, and I expect they'll continue to see a drop in staff quality and morale.
In middle school, I remember reading Dune, Ringworld, and some Heinlein. I also discovered Hitchhiker's Guide around that time.
I also haven't seen David Brin mentioned yet. The larger concepts will probably be a bit too abstract, but his books are full of unusual and interesting characters.
Another possibility are the Star Trek/Wars and other movie/TV tie-in novels. Many are quite good and would be instantly accessible if the kids are familiar with the movies. Karen Traviss' (of the Wess 'Har series) did some writing for the Star Wars series if I remember correctly.
How about a ground level or 2nd floor office with a window? Maybe hang a plant.
Seriously! People might get to know you. Treat you like a human. Even invite you to parties. Or a staff meeting. Say thanks now and then as they walk by. Ask if something's feasible or possible before ordering you to implement major changes on 10 hours' notice.
Could it be that we've come full circle? After all, Bach wasn't paid for works he had written, he was paid to write new things. I wonder what's better, a pop sensation that continues to get paid for one or two good albums over and over again, or a musician who makes a living because people want them to continue producing new and interesting things?
Put another way, art is public property and always has been. We pay artists to contribute to our lives, not for the contribution. Encourage the verb, not the noun.
It's the time. I live in El Paso and it already takes forever to cross the border. You can see cars lined up on miles either side. Most people I know refuse to go simply because of the time it takes, and I would imagine that the enormous inconvenience of crossing the border at a checkpoint will further encourage illegal crossings.
Jeep Grand Cherokee through Montana, anyone?
I have a doctorate in music, my wife is finishing her medical degree. Both of our experiences are similar - mostly foreign grads in our graduate programs.
Having been a college professor, I've seen a bit of a paradigm shift in the last 10 years. Several years back, universities were actually pushing foreign admissions to make their campuses more "multicultural." Nowadays, many have changed their tune, realizing that the American workforce is having a bit of a brain drain problem.
Of course, in the big picture it may not be as troublesome as it first appears. If we look at it from a Kurzweilian sense, maybe these are the growing pains towards some kind of singularity or world government situation.
Or maybe it's because the natives are lazy. I taught at a Big 12 school that was 90% white during the daytime Monday through Thursday. Evenings and weekends and the library were about 20% white, most of whom were just using the facilities to check Facebook.
I agree with this. Ultimately, it all comes down to who's viewing the maps. You might also benefit from a little research - if your organization's site is getting a lot of hits from IE users, then MS might be better (more consistent with the look and feel your users are used to.) But if you're getting a lot of hits on Firefox, Safari, or other alternative browsers, then the wider Google compatibility would be preferable.
I make $700 a seek, and I consider myself very comfortable.
A lot just depends on your definition of "reasonable cost of living." I know households with two kids who do OK with $40k a year.
Unfortunately a lot of people define "reasonable" as having a 4 bedroom house with a $25k SUV, 52" television, and a $100 phone plan.
If I remember correctly, the choice not to use image/video ads was exactly the thing that made Google famous in the first place. I know all the nerds like PigeonRank http://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html, but the real reason normal people like Google is that it's CLEAN.
Nobody seems to mind giving up their privacy for a drivers license, though, so why not abide by a few rules to make the world a better place? Besides, nobody is required to drive in lower Manhattan except delivery trucks. Everybody else can walk or take the subway.
It's not just the equipment. My guess is that this, like most projects, has a huge price tag on the people involved. You have to have people build the equipment, write the software, install it, maintain it, and then train all the people who have to use it - most of whom, I'm sure the Slashdot audience will understand, will resist the new technology.
Think of it this way: Windows Vista Ultimate only costs $189 per machine to implement, right? All you really have to do is stick the CD in the drive and click the upgrade button...
Seems to me that people who can't figure out how to use SiteKey don't deserve secure banking. Seriously, how hard is it to understand those little pictures? These people probably shouldn't be allowed to use computers, drive cars, or procreate either, but first things first...
Books and journals are also occasionally in error, just like Wikipedia. To combat that problem, my professors always required us to have at least 10 sources for a major paper. While I understand the rationale for these professors' actions (I'm a professor myself), banning Wikipedia makes no sense at all. What they should do is require a number of sources, say 5-10 sources including at least one from a book, journal, and the internet.
Writing a paper using Wikipedia isn't the problem. It's writing the paper using ONLY one source.
Slashdot Mirror
The only classrooms that will be made irrelevant are the bad ones in which professors simply stand at the front, lecture, and ask "does any one have any questions?" Classrooms and laboratories that encourage student participation and require hands-on activity will never be made irrelevant. If human contact was that unimportant, then nerdy 14 year olds would stay home and play Halo with each other over the internet instead of sitting on the floor sharing a bowl of Flaming Hot Cheetos. Humans are social creatures. They like to hang out together, whether its learning, playing, or working.
One solution would be for universities to offer a CIS degree track that carries teacher certification. Right now, I don't know of any schools where you can get an education degree in computer science or information systems. As a result, you get people teaching IT/CIS who have their primary training in another field. Like the coaches who get stuck teaching social studies because they need to fill time, some IT teachers are the English teachers or Librarians who get thrown into the computer classroom because they are really good with Google or know how to change themes in PowerPoint.
Themes aren't the same as a customizable UI, though. Most themes I've seen simply change the size and color of the buttons. The underlying functionality is the same. Also, iTunes has had a fair bit of improvement through 3rd party apps and extensions, so saying that iTunes is a one-trick/one-flavor pony doesn't really do the iTunes community justice.
Maybe I'm missing something obvious here, but who's going to be living in the house? I'd write the software for whatever that person uses. If there's not a specific person, then I'd write software based on the platform market share in your area.
Chances are that your employer won't exist in 25 years; chances are also good that if they do, you won't work there anymore. Just find something cheap, make your boss happy, and get a raise. Seriously, what is the purpose of digital image storage for 25 years in a vault? Is there a possibility of thinking outside the box and suggest to your superiors that you do something, um...feasible?
The biggest stumbling block seems to be the size of the hand. There's a limit to how small a keyboard can be, so miniaturization may rely on voice recognition or some other input scheme.
I'm in favor of it, but I think full disclosure would be necessary. If that were the case, I think we'd see a rapid decline in doping. What would you rather do, win with the world knowing you used steroids to do it, or come in a clean second?
Ah yes...I remember testing a couple of Performas and an LC 520. I happily let Apple know that the Performa series was indeed crap and gave them several hundred bucks to help offset their costs.
This is exactly why I went with MobileMe, and since I also use Apple's Backup software, I have my data in three places - the MobileMe server, my Mac, and my personal backup. The biggest problem I see is with large amounts of data. Some of the work I do is audio, and MobileMe isn't a great solution for lots of Logic files - that just stays on my external, but for the average user's personal and light work stuff, MobileMe seems fine. (Until Google adds backup to Google Desktop, which I wouldn't be surprised to see at some point.)
They could also do something like Google and sell hardware OS boxes that companies could "subscribe" to. That might at least alleviate some privacy/security fears. Or maybe that would be too much like an Exchange server license. I've yet to meet an Exchange server admin who liked his job and wasn't worried about security.
The science teachers at the middle school where I taught noticed a couple of problems: First, they're required to cover an enormous amount of material according to a timeline (due to standardized testing and NCLB requirements.) This means if a class gets really interested in something like Astronomy, that's just tough, because you only get three weeks and then you have to move on to the next unit. Alternatively, if you have a class that hates Astronomy, you can't modify the curriculum to recapture their interest or move on because the material "has to be covered." The other problem is that very little science is actually done. Lab experiments are heavily scripted and lack any of the mystery associated with figuring things out, and an disproportionate amount of time is spent on safety procedure and lab write-ups. I realize that safety is important and that writing papers is what real scientists have to do to get tenure and grants, but when you spend 10 minutes looking through the microscope and 110 minutes on microscope safety and drawing pictures of plant cells that you've already seen on page 94 of the textbook, the exercise feels pointless, whether you're 8, 15, or 40.
I think it's the type of parental involvement that matters, not the amount. Having taught middle school, all I really wanted or needed from parents was for them to provide a home environment that was structured and promoted good discipline. Interestingly enough, I also wanted the same from the administration and government - structure and discipline. My principal ran the school somewhat chaotically - clear procedures weren't in place for things like equipment/materials purchasing and field trip scheduling, and she had a habit of changing things without much notice (spirit days and other special events.) Five faculty quit with me last year, and I expect they'll continue to see a drop in staff quality and morale.
Facebook began as a student directory.
In middle school, I remember reading Dune, Ringworld, and some Heinlein. I also discovered Hitchhiker's Guide around that time. I also haven't seen David Brin mentioned yet. The larger concepts will probably be a bit too abstract, but his books are full of unusual and interesting characters. Another possibility are the Star Trek/Wars and other movie/TV tie-in novels. Many are quite good and would be instantly accessible if the kids are familiar with the movies. Karen Traviss' (of the Wess 'Har series) did some writing for the Star Wars series if I remember correctly.
How about a ground level or 2nd floor office with a window? Maybe hang a plant.
Seriously! People might get to know you. Treat you like a human. Even invite you to parties. Or a staff meeting. Say thanks now and then as they walk by. Ask if something's feasible or possible before ordering you to implement major changes on 10 hours' notice.
Could it be that we've come full circle? After all, Bach wasn't paid for works he had written, he was paid to write new things. I wonder what's better, a pop sensation that continues to get paid for one or two good albums over and over again, or a musician who makes a living because people want them to continue producing new and interesting things? Put another way, art is public property and always has been. We pay artists to contribute to our lives, not for the contribution. Encourage the verb, not the noun.
It's the time. I live in El Paso and it already takes forever to cross the border. You can see cars lined up on miles either side. Most people I know refuse to go simply because of the time it takes, and I would imagine that the enormous inconvenience of crossing the border at a checkpoint will further encourage illegal crossings. Jeep Grand Cherokee through Montana, anyone?
I have a doctorate in music, my wife is finishing her medical degree. Both of our experiences are similar - mostly foreign grads in our graduate programs. Having been a college professor, I've seen a bit of a paradigm shift in the last 10 years. Several years back, universities were actually pushing foreign admissions to make their campuses more "multicultural." Nowadays, many have changed their tune, realizing that the American workforce is having a bit of a brain drain problem. Of course, in the big picture it may not be as troublesome as it first appears. If we look at it from a Kurzweilian sense, maybe these are the growing pains towards some kind of singularity or world government situation. Or maybe it's because the natives are lazy. I taught at a Big 12 school that was 90% white during the daytime Monday through Thursday. Evenings and weekends and the library were about 20% white, most of whom were just using the facilities to check Facebook.
I agree with this. Ultimately, it all comes down to who's viewing the maps. You might also benefit from a little research - if your organization's site is getting a lot of hits from IE users, then MS might be better (more consistent with the look and feel your users are used to.) But if you're getting a lot of hits on Firefox, Safari, or other alternative browsers, then the wider Google compatibility would be preferable.
I make $700 a seek, and I consider myself very comfortable. A lot just depends on your definition of "reasonable cost of living." I know households with two kids who do OK with $40k a year. Unfortunately a lot of people define "reasonable" as having a 4 bedroom house with a $25k SUV, 52" television, and a $100 phone plan.
If I remember correctly, the choice not to use image/video ads was exactly the thing that made Google famous in the first place. I know all the nerds like PigeonRank http://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html, but the real reason normal people like Google is that it's CLEAN.
Nobody seems to mind giving up their privacy for a drivers license, though, so why not abide by a few rules to make the world a better place? Besides, nobody is required to drive in lower Manhattan except delivery trucks. Everybody else can walk or take the subway.
It's not just the equipment. My guess is that this, like most projects, has a huge price tag on the people involved. You have to have people build the equipment, write the software, install it, maintain it, and then train all the people who have to use it - most of whom, I'm sure the Slashdot audience will understand, will resist the new technology.
Think of it this way: Windows Vista Ultimate only costs $189 per machine to implement, right? All you really have to do is stick the CD in the drive and click the upgrade button...
Seems to me that people who can't figure out how to use SiteKey don't deserve secure banking. Seriously, how hard is it to understand those little pictures? These people probably shouldn't be allowed to use computers, drive cars, or procreate either, but first things first...
Books and journals are also occasionally in error, just like Wikipedia. To combat that problem, my professors always required us to have at least 10 sources for a major paper. While I understand the rationale for these professors' actions (I'm a professor myself), banning Wikipedia makes no sense at all. What they should do is require a number of sources, say 5-10 sources including at least one from a book, journal, and the internet. Writing a paper using Wikipedia isn't the problem. It's writing the paper using ONLY one source.