OT: College in the COVID era

[M.S.G.]

Cool, thanks man.

 

[Chin Diesel]

See I don't like that, and I'll tell you why.... Synchronous classrooms really scare me as a teacher, because I think eventually one teacher will teacher like 10 classes at once - and we won't be necessary anymore. Just stick a few aide's in the room and have the teacher on synchronous video.

Not a door I want to open.

My school has been VERY vague as to whether we need to turn the camera on and broadcast to the half of class working from home that day, or we can just post the work and they do it.

Welcome to the future of education.

 

[NJHusky]

See this is the problem. The teacher view is all about what is best for teachers. Students be damned. Asynchronous is useless. Might as well cancel school and fire the teachers. Just play video games instead. Stop pretending it is an actual attempt to educate anyone.

It’s interesting....in most businesses efficiency is the goal and worked hard to achieve.

 

[Vuce]

I've opted my sophomore high schooler and grade schooler entirely online. We were given an option to either do a hybrid (in school for 3 days and online for 2) or entirely online. They are using the Zoom app and the entire district has district provided Chromebooks as well. All of their classes notes and homework are done via Google docs and has been in place for a number of years.

I may be of the minority but I think the online learning has worked out well for my kids. I've stressed to them at a very young age that it's not the teachers or professors that will get them to understand and work out problems. It's *their* responsibility. If they need help to understand, I've been telling them to watch a Khan's Academy video and look for sample problems to work on and do every single problem in the book. There's a ton of resources on the web as well.

You are doing a good job with your kids. But many districts are struggling with this. My wife works in a district in CT where upwards of 1/3 of the kids don’t even log on for lessons and they are given a pass. The longer it goes on the greater chance that an entire group of kids will miss a ton of learning. And it will adversely affect (and set back) those on the lower economic end of the spectrum due to less resources at their disposal.

 

[upstater]

See this is the problem. The teacher view is all about what is best for teachers. Students be damned. Asynchronous is useless. Might as well cancel school and fire the teachers. Just play video games instead. Stop pretending it is an actual attempt to educate anyone.

Are we really going to get into this here?

Synchronous/asynchronous for super huge classes is totally irrelevant. You're not responding to a classroom of thousands. Whether it's real-time or not.

But when it comes to teaching, we're not just responsible to students, but also to the course content and the history of knowledge. There are a lot of good arguments about how dwindling the number of teachers will have a detrimental impact on the latter.

And really it's al being done in the name of some tech guys who don't know the first thing about teaching, and all they see is scalable profits.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Are we really going to get into this here?

Synchronous/asynchronous for super huge classes is totally irrelevant. You're not responding to a classroom of thousands. Whether it's real-time or not.

But when it comes to teaching, we're not just responsible to students, but also to the course content and the history of knowledge. There are a lot of good arguments about how dwindling the number of teachers will have a detrimental impact on the latter.

And really it's al being done in the name of some tech guys who don't know the first thing about teaching, and all they see is scalable profits.

I‘m not talking about college. I’m talking K-12. That said, I wouldn’t pay current college tuition for online. You want to bring up some kind of Harvard by Google online degree that costs $8k a year and is well regarded? Ok, I’m listening. Read an article suggesting that could be the future.

For K-12 I want on site in classroom instruction, especially for younger kids. I am not for getting rid of teachers, and the best way they can avoid becoming viewed as expendable is to get in the classroom. Under current circumstances I think K-6 should be fully in person. 7-12 should be hybrid but synchronous. I don’t think these K-12 kids are getting even half of what they should via asynchronous.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Are we really going to get into this here?

Synchronous/asynchronous for super huge classes is totally irrelevant. You're not responding to a classroom of thousands. Whether it's real-time or not.

But when it comes to teaching, we're not just responsible to students, but also to the course content and the history of knowledge. There are a lot of good arguments about how dwindling the number of teachers will have a detrimental impact on the latter.

And really it's al being done in the name of some tech guys who don't know the first thing about teaching, and all they see is scalable profits.

Elon Musk nailed it.

Going to college for an education is a waste of time and money. Everything you need to become educated is on the internet for free.

Only societal function left for universities is the soft skills while teens turn in to young adults- learning to socialize with groups beyond your youth, learning to manage time, starting to learn how to manage money, and all that stuff.

 

[superjohn]

Going to college for an education is a waste of time and money. Everything you need to become educated is on the internet for free.

And this right here is a major reason this country gets dumber and dumber.

 

[HuskyHawk]

And this right here is a major reason this country gets dumber and dumber.

I don't think Musk is right. But I did read an interesting article that forecast an interesting future. What the top schools really have isn't superior quality of education, but a great brand. How do they extend that brand to more kids, providing affordable credentials. The current model can't survive for much longer. Meanwhile cash rich big tech companies need to expand their reach.

Is Galloway right? I think there are pieces of what he say that make sense. But here is the counterpoint.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Side question for the current CT residents. I briefly looked at Trinity College. How is that area of Hartford now? Is there anything to do outside of campus nearby? I recall that the campus itself was nice, but wasn't in a very college town like area of Hartford.

 

[Chin Diesel]

And this right here is a major reason this country gets dumber and dumber.

Keep your head buried in the sand.

 

[HooperScooper]

Side question for the current CT residents. I briefly looked at Trinity College. How is that area of Hartford now? Is there anything to do outside of campus nearby? I recall that the campus itself was nice, but wasn't in a very college town like area of Hartford.

Looked at Trinity with both of my sons. Was there 4 times. The campus is smaller than the other NESCAC schools because it's in the middle of an urban neighborhood. The campus itself is nice. Area around it is pretty rough. It didn't scare me or my sons but it does scare off a lot of people. I don't think there's much around there that would interest your daughter. And I would not walk around there at night by yourself. Which is probably why Trinity is easier to get into than the other NESCAC schools.

 

[HooperScooper]

Elon Musk nailed it.

Going to college for an education is a waste of time and money. Everything you need to become educated is on the internet for free.

Only societal function left for universities is the soft skills while teens turn in to young adults- learning to socialize with groups beyond your youth, learning to manage time, starting to learn how to manage money, and all that stuff.

I think you're wrong. But we can agree to disagree and I'm not arguing on this forum about it.

 

[August_West]

Looked at Trinity with both of my sons. Was there 4 times. The campus is smaller than the other NESCAC schools because it's in the middle of an urban neighborhood. The campus itself is nice. Area around it is pretty rough. It didn't scare me or my sons but it does scare off a lot of people. I don't think there's much around there that would interest your daughter. And I would not walk around there at night by yourself. Which is probably why Trinity is easier to get into than the other NESCAC schools.

Oooga booga.

Its not that terrible. Id send my daughter there no problem.

 

[superjohn]

Keep your head buried in the sand.

You're living proof.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Looked at Trinity with both of my sons. Was there 4 times. The campus is smaller than the other NESCAC schools because it's in the middle of an urban neighborhood. The campus itself is nice. Area around it is pretty rough. It didn't scare me or my sons but it does scare off a lot of people. I don't think there's much around there that would interest your daughter. And I would not walk around there at night by yourself. Which is probably why Trinity is easier to get into than the other NESCAC schools.

Oooga booga.

Its not that terrible. Id send my daughter there no problem.

She loved Tufts. Her favorite so far. Visited Wesleyan which may be a better fit than Trinity though I didn't like it. She is very familiar with Middlebury but probably too remote. I know Colby as my sister used to teach there, too rural.

 

[August_West]

She loved Tufts. Her favorite so far. Visited Wesleyan which may be a better fit than Trinity though I didn't like it. She is very familiar with Middlebury but probably too remote. I know Colby as my sister used to teach there, too rural.

Oh no!!! Dont walk Boston at night!!
Dont walk Middletown at night!!!!

 

[Chin Diesel]

You're living proof.

You just provided a good example of your theory that online education is making the country dumber and dumber.

You use the word "proof" without providing any details or examples.

If you had to apply any education you've been exposed to you'd be expected to provide examples of your "proof".

 

[HuskyHawk]

Oh no!!! Dont walk Boston at night!!
Dont walk Middletown at night!!!!

She likes BU too. The more likely issue with Trinity isn't safety, it's that there isn't anything nearby that is interesting for college kids.

 

[August_West]

You just provided a good example of your theory that online education is making the country dumber and dumber.

You use the word "proof" without providing any details or examples.

If you had to apply any education you've been exposed to you'd be expected to provide examples of your "proof".

Its probably easier to just do a search history of your posts

 

[superjohn]

You just provided a good example of your theory that online education is making the country dumber and dumber.

You use the word "proof" without providing any details or examples.

If you had to apply any education you've been exposed to you'd be expected to provide examples of your "proof".

Yikes...try hard.

 

[superjohn]

Its probably easier to just do a search history of your posts

He's a breathing meme much like Kanye, B1GEAST, Old Socky, Kolumbo, Sparkler, Dupester etc.

 

[August_West]

He's a breathing meme much like Kanye, B1GEAST, Old Socky, Kolumbo, Sparkler, Dupester etc.

solid list. Dont forget calderp

 

[upstater]

I‘m not talking about college. I’m talking K-12. That said, I wouldn’t pay current college tuition for online. You want to bring up some kind of Harvard by Google online degree that costs $8k a year and is well regarded? Ok, I’m listening. Read an article suggesting that could be the future.

For K-12 I want on site in classroom instruction, especially for younger kids. I am not for getting rid of teachers, and the best way they can avoid becoming viewed as expendable is to get in the classroom. Under current circumstances I think K-6 should be fully in person. 7-12 should be hybrid but synchronous. I don’t think these K-12 kids are getting even half of what they should via asynchronous.

Sounds like we agree. I almost have to read the previous posts to see where this went wrong

 

[upstater]

I don't think Musk is right. But I did read an interesting article that forecast an interesting future. What the top schools really have isn't superior quality of education, but a great brand. How do they extend that brand to more kids, providing affordable credentials. The current model can't survive for much longer. Meanwhile cash rich big tech companies need to expand their reach.

Is Galloway right? I think there are pieces of what he say that make sense. But here is the counterpoint.

This is exactly the kind of idiot tech guy I was talking about