Bill Gate's Annual letter cites the potential for online learning

In his annual letter, Bill Gates regards online learning, especially interactive programs, as one of the areas for which his foundation will provide more support in the future. He paid a good bit of attention to free online resources, as well as better organization and review of the resources currently available. Although, I agree that online resources, when used effectively and tailored for it's particular audience (eg based on education level) can enhance the learning experience, I also think about the ramifications for traditional education institutions like 4-year universities/colleges.

A quote from the letter: "Self-motivated students can take entire courses on their own. If they want to prove they learned the material to help qualify for a job, a trusted accreditation service independent from any school should be able to verify their abilities."

Such a motivated student is most likely goal-driven, and serious about their educational success. Does that student miss out on or lose on any significant learning experiences by taking a course on-line? Should these online course require synchronous experiences, or require enrollment during a specific time period (e.g. semester) to ensure discussion and exchange of ideas among students? Or is it sufficient just to interact with the program and maybe an online instructor? Will more universities become "trusted accreditation services" with fewer on-campus students?

I'm thinking "it depends" and I'm sure some of you will think that as well. So let me hear from you. What do you think? What might it depend on?

Also, aren't you glad we're all going to be better teachers with technology after this course. Maybe some of us will be receiving Gates foundation grants in the future? (if you do, remember you heard it here ;-)

branching out technologically

I've come to respect technology that allows one to easily switch from low tech to high tech, and back. In lab we now have a new "visualizer". This is a combination LCD projector with a camera that lets you view what's on the desk (similar to an old overhead projector, but without the transparencies. I've used these before but it's been a while, and I'd forgotten how useful it could be. In lab there is little need for power points, but the visualizer helps display a highly detailed photo of a fern structure, while i can add labels and comments for further explanations. I enjoy this flexibility unlike a PowerPoint presentation, where there is no room for modification once the presentation has begun. Also, I can throw some spores (tiny fern reproductive structures) under the camera and zoom in on small plant structures so all the class can have a common and detailed view. Then turn off the camera, and we're back to focusing on the live plants in front of us.

This allows us to take a short walk on a technological branch to help us gain more detailed understanding as a group, but the focus on the lab -a hands-on experience examining plants- is maintained.

I've created a blog

Duh-uh. But it's something I never thought I would do. Revealing thoughts without resorting to passive sentences, several edits and an external reviewer is at least a league out of my comfort zone. Yet, I'm trying to do what I hope to help my students do in the future, explore new ideas and experiences, learn by actively participating in these new experiences and re-evaluate previous conceptions. So the Techy part of this blog...I am using a new technology to explore new technologies... more to come later.