TECHNOLOGY & EDUCATION DIGEST
Digest No. 27 -- November 4, 1997
A Moderated Mailing List
Steve Wildstrom (steve_wildstrom@businessweek.com), Moderator

Return to Technology & Education

Issue 26 was *SUCH* a good issue. I was on WICN NPR radio Worcester MA a few months ago discussing the technology gap -- defined in this case as the difference between money spent on hardware/software/networking and money spent on teacher training, curricula, and planning.

I would REALLY REALLY like to collect some anecdotal data on the K-12 and college market of % of technology budget spent on hardware VS instructor training.

I would venture that for every dollar spent on hardware/software, that $0.05 or less is spent on instructor training. My hope would be that $0.35 would be spent on planning and training. In other words, I'd rather see a *well utilized* 10 PC school than a *poorly utilized* 20 PC school.

Comments? Real numbers to support or deny?

Please e-mail White Pine education group at cu-education@wpine.com

Thanks!

Gary

P.S. See www.cuseeme.com for a great new study on CU-SeeMe and college level Spanish courses, and an invitation to submit an article or anecdote about CU-SeeMe and/or computers in general in education.

Gary Dietz
White Pine Software, Inc.
Product Manager, Vertical Solutions

I write a syndicated newspaper column "Surfing the Net with Kids" that is very popular with teachers, and is now available free in an email edition.

"Surfing the Net with Kids" ferrets out the best of the online world for teachers, parents, kids and the young-at-heart. Each column rates and reviews five Web sites on topics as diverse as Gargoyles, Declaration of Independence, Martin Luther King, and Venonmous Snakes.

TO SUBSCRIBE:
send an email to join-surfnetkids@s1.net

ONLINE ARCHIVES:
http://www.surfnetkids.com/feldman

Thank you,

Barbara J. Feldman
"Surfing the Net with Kids"
http://www.surfnetkids.com/feldman
"Family Internet"
http://familyinternet.miningco.com

Jere Allan (celtex@mail1.nai.net) writes:

Our district is in the process of evaluating platform direction for the next three years. It would be helpful if we had an idea of installed computers (Apple, IBM & PCs) for the past two years. Any suggestions on where to find this data. Thanks in advance.

Jere Allan

This is my first contribution to your mailing list!

I've been working with computers during 25 years and I remember a magazine called Kilobaud Microcomputing. The editor had a lot of good ideas like this one:

He proposed education should be divided between the school and the real world; in other words, boys and girls would spend 6 months at the school and 6 months going to a real office or a real factory to see how things work (or doesn't work).

Personally, I think a lot of young people get shocked when they finish school and have to face a world very different from the one described by their teachers and parents.

Jaime Sanmartin

My name is Randy Hughes, I represent QNX Software Systems. We are a 17 year old research and development company that specializes in real time operating systems.

A few months ago we produced a 1.44m floppy disk to demonstrate our technology. This disk was created to show the high level of functionality that we offer, and to demonstrate the extremely small footprint that we occupy.

The demo disk holds all of the software necessary to redeploy an old 386 computer as an effective web browser.( a web browser that does not even need a hard disk!)

The demo disk holds:

- a HTML 3.2 browser
- a web server
- our QNX, protected mode, POSIX certified, 32 bit, fully scalable environment, plus hard real time performance
- a windowing system
- tcp/ip services with ppp
- a dialer to connect to a local ISP

One simply inserts the disk in their computer and again, may surf the web without the need of a hard disk.

We have heard from many integrators who plan to demonstrate our technology to the education community.

The abovementioned disk is fully customizable and is capable of allowing an otherwise constrained 386 to surf the web for as little as $3.00 per machine. Any school boards with old 386s and a limited budget might be interested in this technology. We invite inquiries to the undersigned.

Randall P. Hughes
Account Manager
QNX Software Systems Ltd.
175 Terence Matthews Cres.
Kanata, Ontario
K2M 1W8
(613) 591-0931 ext 224
(613) 591-3579 fax
mailto:rhughes@qnx.com
http://www.qnx.com

Michael F. Pitsch (TechnicalDocuments@compuserve.com) wrote:

"Why teach kids on Macs instead of the computer used in the 'Real World'?" " Because it's our job to prepare kids for what they will be using tomorrow, not what people are using today" Sure, and let's make sure that our Teaching Colleges insist that all English teachers only learn Latin as well. Your suggestions reflect a superficial under-standing of computers in general and how they are used outside of the sterile classrooms. Learn how to use Windows 95 and Windows Nt 4.0 and learn how they are being used in the rest of the world outside of the classroom and you will improve your understanding and the quality of your opinions.

To suggest that an OS that has refused to change in 10 years is the way of the future is simply inconceivable. It is simply inconceivable that the tired Mac OS and limited software is what we want our children to use. I refuse to continue to fund with my tax monies, expensive, proprietary, obsolete technology offered by a company that is circling the drain as we speak.

Michael, that quote in my sig is from a teacher, someone who is using Macs in the classroom every day.

Please don't disregard the MacOS because you believe it hasn't changed in the last 10 years. To say so implies that you haven't looked at a Mac in the last 10 years. MacOS 8 is powerful, stable and a delight to use, with so many features that make life easy for the user, I haven't had time to explore half of them.

The software available for the Mac is both plentiful and empowering to the pupils. The major strength of the Mac in the classroom is that it is relatively transparent. The children can get on with processing words, crunching numbers, creating & exploring fertile new worlds without needing to learn how to use arcane operating systems. And without the teachers needing an engineering degree to keep the machinery running.

Apple are having problems, it's clear, but they have a well-mapped future with strong products in the pipeline. Certainly the teaching community continue to have faith in Macs, with buoyant sales to the Education sector.

Keep in touch.....Ian O

I am interested in k-12 schools which have implemented requiring notebooks (laptops) for every student.

[Fairfax County (Va.) Public Schools decided a couple of years ago that all sixth graders should get laptops. Thye proposal lasted about 15 minutes before being crushed by parent opposition. Anyone know of other cases?--MOD]

Dear Executive,

Do you think a computerized educational invention in public education would interest your readers? Good luck for both of us.

During 1996 Cottage Education Corporation developed a Distance Learning program named Testing and Teaching by Telephone.

To operate this program requires only a touch-tone telephone and a local call. We are confident that you would be interested in our Testing and Teaching by Telephone program, because it is innovative, confidential, cost-effective and is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to the students.

The student, at any time, simply dials the telephone number (352) 343-1515 - school code 091, guest student ID #123456 and test number as indicated on the leaflet. For example: 1002 for multiplication, 4001 for science, 5001 for history, 6001 for civics, etc.

The program answers more than one thousand questions and contains arithmetic, vocabulary, civics, history, geography and science subjects. (Program may be available in any district with a local telephone installation.)

Enclosed is an instruction leaflet that describes how to use the program as a guest student.

This program is funded by local contributors and can be duplicated in any county in Florida. Our intention is to offer our services to all public schools, home-schoolers, literacy coordinators and specially rural areas in Florida.

We hope you will try it and let YOUR READERS know your comments.

Thank you,

M.F. Baki, President
Cottage Education Corp.
P.O.Box: 778, Mount Dora, Fl 32757
Phone: (352) 742-7323
Fax: (352) 742-7325
director@cottage-education.org
http://www.cottage-education.org

For E-mail only.

COTTAGE EDUCATION CORPORATION
A Not-for-Profit Educational Organization

Main Office: 222 E. Main Street, Tavares, FL 32778
Mailing Address: P.O.Box 778, Mt. Dora, FL 32757
Phone: (352) 742-7323
Fax: (352) 742-7325
E-mail: director@cottage-education.org
Homepage: http://www.cottage-education.org

TELEPHONE TESTING AND TEACHING PROGRAM

Cottage Education Corp. developed a telephone teaching and testing program covering addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, vocabulary, history, civics and geography. This program is available 24 hours a day, and is private, confidential and free of charge to the students.

ALL YOU NEED TO OPERATE THIS PROGRAM IS A TOUCH TONE TELEPHONE.

Please follow the instructions below and see how simple and easy learning can be right at home.

1. Dial the phone number: (352) 343-1515
2. Three digit school code: 091
3. Student code: 123456 (guest student)
4. Do not enter zero for test results and wait for next instructions.
5. Key in the test number (as indicated below).
6. Key in answer. If incorrect you will hear the correct answer before the next question begins.

We encourage parents and students to call Cottage Education Corp. at (352) 742-7323 for information regarding registration and private student ID number for the purpose of obtaining progress reports.

(part 1)

Subject                  Test #
addition       1502  1503  1504  1505  1506
subtraction    1402  1403  1404  1405  1406
multiplication 1002  1003  1004  1005  1006
division       1202  1203  1204  1205  1206
science        4001  4011  4021  4031  4041
history        5001  5011  5021  5031  5041
vocabulary     6201  6211  6221  6231  6241
civics         6001  6011  6021  6031  6041
geography      6401  6411  6421  6431  6441


(part 2)

Subject                  Test #
addition       1507  1508  1509  1511  1512
subtraction    1407  1408  1409  1411  1412
multiplication 1007  1008  1009  1011  1012
division       1207  1208  1209  1211  1212
science        4051  4061  4071  4081  4091
history        5051  5061  5071  5081  5091
vocabulary     6251  6261  6271  6281  6291
civics         6051  6061  6071  6081  6091
geography      6451  6461  6471  6481  6491

Note to the Reporters:

We established the TESTING AND TEACHING BY PHONE PROGRAM in Lake County Florida. We would like to replicate this program in every COUNTY AND STATE LITERACY DISTRICT in the country. Please contact us for demonstration.

Volunteers of Cottage Education Corporation.

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