Mar 25 2013: I think this is a really cool idea. I think a few factors that you have to take into consideration are.
-How do you find out a students particular learning style and personality? How adaptive can you make a learning style, since each individual might learn subjects at different rates. I know that in Math, I have to be reinforced with spacial as well as visual context, and in something like biology I don't.
- Is the learning direction more user based or driven by the tutor? Some days I really don't want to work on a particular subject, but I will surf websites like TED for hours learning new information. If a student doesn't want to learn a particular subject, do you inspire them? Motivate them? Back off and let them take the wheel for awhile? I feel like it would be very interesting to see what type of information an 8 year old would want to know without any direction given to him or herself.
- People are motivated by different things. How are you going to pinpoint what motivational factor works best for an individual?
- Who is in charge of the information given to the child? The parents? The local school systems? The people bankrolling the operation?
Making technology that is adaptive to not just one child, but is individualized to every single child is a very daunting, but very worthwhile goal to achieve. All in all, I wish you the best of luck, since if something like this became feasible it would change education drastically.
Feb 5 2013: You are hinting at something along the lines of having a students education being molded to that particular individual, and not applied to a general population. This is slowly starting to happen, but at the same time, you have to look at education from several perspectives, since it's such a complex issue.
I am currently in college, and I know how you feel. I am taking classes that I normally would not take unless I was forced to. Although a good amount of this information is something that I don't find interesting right now, I have no idea if I will have use for it in the future. But I'd rather have general background knowledge about a particular subject versus knowing nothing at all.
It also is hard to tell what subjects are actually "needed" by an individual. Also, some of my favorite classes were from subjects that I would never have taken on my own. Many of my friends have changed their majors, and therefore the entire direction of their future, due to classes like these. I am sure there are just as many people who thought of those classes as a waste of time.
I guess the question I would ask is, how can we make the information we "need" to prepare someone for the world interesting to every single student? I would like to be able to have greater freedom in choosing a teacher that works for me, as well as a time that works for me, as well as a format that works for me. Some of us don't learn so well from someone with a monotone voice at 8:30 in the morning with a class of 250 students:/
Apr 12 2012: I think you are taking this talk at face value verses what he is trying to portray.
Education costs are rising at significantly higher rates then inflation, and on top of it they do not guarantee a secure job. He is addressing the issue of the insanely increasing cost of an education while this amazing technology called the internet is making information relatively free.
He's metaphorically describing the desperation and helplessness that could be felt from people who feel higher education is out of their reach. You should never have to feel helplessly desperate when you are trying to better yourself, yet in reality many, many people do.
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A comment on Conversation: Interactive Educational interface
-How do you find out a students particular learning style and personality? How adaptive can you make a learning style, since each individual might learn subjects at different rates. I know that in Math, I have to be reinforced with spacial as well as visual context, and in something like biology I don't.
- Is the learning direction more user based or driven by the tutor? Some days I really don't want to work on a particular subject, but I will surf websites like TED for hours learning new information. If a student doesn't want to learn a particular subject, do you inspire them? Motivate them? Back off and let them take the wheel for awhile? I feel like it would be very interesting to see what type of information an 8 year old would want to know without any direction given to him or herself.
- People are motivated by different things. How are you going to pinpoint what motivational factor works best for an individual?
- Who is in charge of the information given to the child? The parents? The local school systems? The people bankrolling the operation?
Making technology that is adaptive to not just one child, but is individualized to every single child is a very daunting, but very worthwhile goal to achieve. All in all, I wish you the best of luck, since if something like this became feasible it would change education drastically.
A comment on Conversation: Should we force kids to learn material they don't show interest in?
I am currently in college, and I know how you feel. I am taking classes that I normally would not take unless I was forced to. Although a good amount of this information is something that I don't find interesting right now, I have no idea if I will have use for it in the future. But I'd rather have general background knowledge about a particular subject versus knowing nothing at all.
It also is hard to tell what subjects are actually "needed" by an individual. Also, some of my favorite classes were from subjects that I would never have taken on my own. Many of my friends have changed their majors, and therefore the entire direction of their future, due to classes like these. I am sure there are just as many people who thought of those classes as a waste of time.
I guess the question I would ask is, how can we make the information we "need" to prepare someone for the world interesting to every single student? I would like to be able to have greater freedom in choosing a teacher that works for me, as well as a time that works for me, as well as a format that works for me. Some of us don't learn so well from someone with a monotone voice at 8:30 in the morning with a class of 250 students:/
A reply on Talk: Put the financial aid in the bag
Education costs are rising at significantly higher rates then inflation, and on top of it they do not guarantee a secure job. He is addressing the issue of the insanely increasing cost of an education while this amazing technology called the internet is making information relatively free.
He's metaphorically describing the desperation and helplessness that could be felt from people who feel higher education is out of their reach. You should never have to feel helplessly desperate when you are trying to better yourself, yet in reality many, many people do.