Does Anyone Else Find Watching Simpletons Discuss Technology To Be Oddly Reassuring?

[MRT144]

Universities arent the only level of education and the only type of education in the united states. Do you do this kind of thinking often HC?

Why are you making university budget offices the final arbiter of sense in educational budgets?

[MRT144]

Also, I'm sure Asher could pull a few university success stories for his employer's product, as CMU isn't the only reference for such things.

[Wiglaf]

I'm sure his company or Microsoft pays some podunk university to use the smartboards and say something nice about them. That seems to be how this racket is operating now.

[giblets]

Universities expect students to provide their own technology, so I dont really see how theres a greater point to "universities don't do it, therefore its invalid as a tool".

Universities love wasting money so the fact that none of them are willing to buy this thing is pretty damning.

Oh, wait, no it's not. Smart boards are designed for little kids with short attention spans whose parents let them watch too much TV.

[regexcellent]

I'm sure some university somewhere has bought those stupid things.

[Asher]

Universities expect students to provide their own technology, so I dont really see how theres a greater point to "universities don't do it, therefore its invalid as a tool".

HC and Wiglaf clearly understand the pedagogy of learning and how K-8, 9-12, and higher ed are all the same.

[Wiglaf]

It's amusing to watch you squirm and pretend "K-8 pedagogy" is an actual science, on par with your other favorites like philosophy and African-American British Literature Studies. You write words on a ****ing board. It worked for Plato. End of story.

[Asher]

The smartboard is like a whiteboard for people who think that whiteboards somehow don't manage to do the job of getting words onto a wall so people can see them. Universities have realized that the premise is false and so do not pay for them. It's not something students would provide.

The problem with smartboards is they require initiative on the part of the teacher. Which, as you represent, is clearly lacking.

It's not a device to just ink on. Any idiot could do that with a whiteboard. And anyone using smartboards just for that (which is, unfortunately, all too many people) aren't getting value out of it.

Your argument is akin to "iPads are useless, because you could always write on pads of paper".

[Wiglaf]

The problem with smartboards is they require initiative on the part of the teacher. Which, as you represent, is clearly lacking.

It's not a device to just ink on. Any idiot could do that with a whiteboard. And anyone using smartboards just for that (which is, unfortunately, all too many people) aren't getting value out of it.

Your argument is akin to "iPads are useless, because you could always write on pads of paper".

Please elaborate on what exactly a smartboard can do to enhance high school pedagogy.

[Sava]

Universities arent the only level of education and the only type of education in the united states. Do you do this kind of thinking often HC?

Why are you making university budget offices the final arbiter of sense in educational budgets?

Because that's the scope of his experience on the matter.

[Elok]

I don't care about smartboards (they're really not that useful, but that's hardly the worst problem facing education), but I don't think education should be broken up into K-8 and 9-12. Around seventh grade they turn a corner and can be mostly trusted with independent work. Also, their attitudes go from "child" to "teenager" more or less overnight around that point. Certainly teaching a six-year-old is very unlike teaching a twelve-year-old. 7th and 11th are pretty similar, if you adjust for the difficulty of the material.

[Alexander's Horse]

A Ben-free thread, how refreshing

[Asher]

Please elaborate on what exactly a smartboard can do to enhance high school pedagogy.

Two main benefits, which have been proven in studies and before/after adoption statistics
- It engages students far more effectively than whiteboards/blackboards/overheads (there's tons of studies to prove this).
- It permits students to interact with the lesson material. Eg, the physics lessons integrate activities to demonstrate the concepts being taught along with parameters that can be tweaked. Many students learn by doing and collaborating with other students to work through problems, so having activities/widgets that facilitate that improves retention and comprehension.

Random example: For high school math, they can use the compass to draw an arc and then, in real time, explore the shape. It can display side lengths, angles, formulae, etc in real-time. You can update one length and see how it affects the others. You can take any shape and sub-divide it into polygons. You can write any equation and have it graphed in real time. Have it draw a line of best fit. Add arbitrary points to a plot. Have it generate an equation from a graph.

Here's short video of an older version of the software:

The version coming out soon has real-time equation recognition and computation support like MyScript's iPad apps (MyScript is a partner):

[Elok]

A Ben-free thread, how refreshing

Stop jinxing it, you chicken McDickface.

[Wiglaf]

How did anyone ever learn math before this!?!?

Two main benefits, which have been proven in studies and before/after adoption statistics
- It engages students far more effectively than whiteboards/blackboards/overheads (there's tons of studies to prove this).
- It permits students to interact with the lesson material. Eg, the physics lessons integrate activities to demonstrate the concepts being taught along with parameters that can be tweaked. Many students learn by doing and collaborating with other students to work through problems, so having activities/widgets that facilitate that improves retention and comprehension.

Random example: For high school math, they can use the compass to draw an arc and then, in real time, explore the shape. It can display side lengths, angles, formulae, etc in real-time. You can update one length and see how it affects the others. You can take any shape and sub-divide it into polygons. You can write any equation and have it graphed in real time. Have it draw a line of best fit. Add arbitrary points to a plot. Have it generate an equation from a graph.

Here's short video of an older version of the software:

The version coming out soon has real-time equation recognition and computation support like MyScript's iPad apps (MyScript is a partner):