Chief Delphi - Professor Woodie Flowers on Educational Reform

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Re: Professor Woodie Flowers on Educational Reform

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Freeman (Post 860691)

The whole bit about textbooks being as outdated as records is, I believe, complete nonsense. I like my textbooks and I will never consider replacing them with an electronic version.

I can take them with me, I can mark multiple pages, I can hold 4 pages open with one hand and flip between them easily (eg. the concept of something, an example, and a table of enthalpy values). My books don't run out of battery power if I forget my charger, my books don't blue screen on me, I don't have to boot them up, I don't have to shut them down, they don't get hot if I leave them on my lap.
I can write notes into my books (don't even start with the tablet PC talk, writing on one of those is marginally easier than writing on glass with a crayon), I can put bookmarks in them, etc.

So you use your textbooks for reference, and not learning?

One of Woodie's points in the lecture is that a formula only makes sense after you have learned the concept it codifies. I have found in my undergraduate experiences that most of my textbooks are significantly more useful /after/ I understand the material they contain.

Re: Professor Woodie Flowers on Educational Reform

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Freeman (Post 860691)

I do agree with Woodie's open-source textbook idea though. (He never used that term, but I'm pretty sure that's what he's talking about). Getting more people to work on textbooks and finally getting rid of these publishers that make more "revisions" of their textbooks that are really just rearranging material and changing the problem sets. (eg. How much has calculus changed in the last 100 years? Compare that with the number of new calculus textbook versions in the last 5 years)

Calculus may not have changed that much in the last 100 years (or it may have, Im not really sure) but our understanding of how people learn sure has. As someone who actually has 2 different editions of a textbook available I can tell you that the newer edition is significantly easier to learn. The diagrams are simpler and illustrate a point better. The wording is much clearer. The organization of the book is also vastly superior. Now, would I have bought both versions of the textbook? No, the only reason I have access to them is because I took the class one term and a buddy took it the next and the professor wouldn't let them use my book. (Tip:Share books with your classmates) To you it may not make a huge difference but to someone who might struggle to learn a concept having a more clear and concise text book can be a phenomenal advantage. (Tip: Learn to communicate) Yes this is all just personal opinion based on a small sample set (I have 2 sets of 2 different editions for textbooks and this holds true for both) I do have to agree though that textbooks are generally a pain to buy especially if your professor insists you buy the book but never actually uses it (nor does it contain information pertinent to the course)

The more I read this thread the more I want to watch the talk. (I got my computer back the other day so I can finally watch it)

Re: Professor Woodie Flowers on Educational Reform

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebarker (Post 860649)

For example: Recently I spent an hour talking to a 3rd grade class about engineering. They lobbied for two things. One they wanted a bunch of magnets. And secondly they wanted a video game to do something, I can't remember what. Pokemon or something.

What if - we had a visualization tool that demonstrated the fields around a simple bar magnet. The do some gaming and connect two end to end..... show some more fields. Let the kids do something interactive to help them grasp the concepts. And then we give them the magnets. And then we have them explain how they really work.

Simple concept - Powerful insight

Any takers ??

PS. For students in Northwest Atlanta area, "Corky College" will be conducting animation classes, 6 to 9 pm, Tuesday, Thursday, starting June 2nd. Let me know if you want to enroll. Tuition is $ 0.00

In labview there is a Demo VI called Moon Lander, or something like that. You have a given fuel supply and are rapidly approaching the moon. Burn too much fuel way too early and you float off into space. Gain too much speed and you can't slow down in time and you crash. Find the perfect balance and you get to safely land.

If you hooked the crio controller up to a egg/tube blower system, you could have a really neat/messy demo. (How nerds make scrambled eggs).

I knew some Aerospace engineers that either made or found a game called planetary sling shot. You were given a solar system and an initial position. you got to decide the burn and you used planet and moon magnetic fields to sling shot your exploration device through out space. (I think it was flash based).

Re: Professor Woodie Flowers on Educational Reform

I am one of the lucky Technology Education teachers that gets to design and problem solve with different hands-on projects on a daily basis. So I get to see students enjoy challenging themselves with every new project I can conjure up. I'm also in a school district that is extremely progressive in the ways it promotes the use of technology in its classroom. There were a number of grants approved for next year where the teachers found uses for iPod touches in their classrooms. So public education is certainly on the forefront of a revolution especially as we learn how to use Web 2.0 sites and other forms of "Digital Native" technology in our classrooms. "Digital Native" meaning anyone who was born with an iPod, cell phone, or the internet.

Does it seem like colleges are behind the reform curve? Many of us seem to recall times in college where the textbook seemed like it was the main focus of a course when hands-on activities could have better provided a better experiences. Or do I have it backwards?

Re: Professor Woodie Flowers on Educational Reform

In my early years in college I played Lunar Lander not in Labview, but on this machine right here, a Telex terminal hooked to an IBM 360 mainframe.

http://www.science.uva.nl/museum/pic...tykaartje4.gif

If you take the big picture view of history, text books, classroom, universities and public education in general used to be a novel concept.

I don't have a study to cite but a half a century ago the average education level has been stated to be roughly equivalent to a 7th or 8th grade education level.

There have been tremendous accomplishments in education in the past hundred years. More people have been educated and at a higher level. No more one room school houses on the prairie and universities that were a little better. Back then it was a big achievement when students, all students, received textbooks.

That was then. This is now. And it is a new world...

Re: Professor Woodie Flowers on Educational Reform

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Marra (Post 860747)

So you use your textbooks for reference, and not learning?

I use them for both. My point is that if textbooks are harder to use and read (by putting them on computers) then they're worthless for BOTH learning and reference.

Re: Professor Woodie Flowers on Educational Reform

I once had a debate which was a better tool, a screwdriver or a hammer.

Out here, I use whatever tool I can get my hands on. Computer, book, hammer or rock.

P.S. While technically youcan use any of those tools to pound in a nail, the rock and hammer generally fair better than the computer.