I recently viewed a video with Bill Gates,
He asked "How can we make better teachers", he went on to show the gap from "really good teachers to not so good teachers", he made a comment if we could raise the number of good teachers, it would dramatically affect the number of graduated, and more so the number of college graduates.
He mentioned a couple of great education efforts (one he mentioned was KIPP) in or around Houston Texas.
I got to thinking again, and really wish I could help the foundation try a variation on the most recent idea I blogged about. (see below).
What if we took that idea, and we were able to take the Good teachers, and exponentially expand their sphere of teaching? ie, instead of helping 150 students a day, what if we could expand that to 15000 students per day?
We would need to capture what they do on video, or better yet an interactive learning situation, where the great teachers are supported by teaching staff (either via the web, or at learning centers) across the nation. Remember back to my idea, where we expand the concept from people under 26, to incoming Freshmen in high school.
ie, we offer alternative (or maybe in conjunction with normal education) a way for troubled students to every day attend these "what I would call super classrooms" where they get both one on one support from the "Great Teacher and her staff", and go thru the various subjects that the student has trouble with. If the student excels in the normal classes, great...If they excel in the learning, but want to focus on getting a skill (ie, under 26 idea where by they get accelerated learning on specific skills), they can. It will take infrastructure, and Staffing assignments for the "Great Teacher's and Staff" For example, Take one Great Teacher, she or he teacher their class as normal, except they have the infrastructure to broadcast the class thru to the 15000 students, where the Teacher has a staff of say 50 that can answer the students questions, request one on one time, etc.
Again, a lot has to be flushed out about this idea, but imagine the possibility?? Exponentially expanding the great teachers capabilities to a much larger student audience. The results could be staggering if tried (maybe in small steps)?
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Another Idea
The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation asked about ways to get young adults (under 26) into post education. I thought about this for a while, and came up with something while not completely new, maybe with some funding, could take off here in the U.S.
I thought about my nephew who is under 26. He graduated from High School with a passing GPA. He wanted to go to some sort of secondary education, but could not afford the schooling. He had to find work, have health benefits, and pay normal living expenses. He had two main obstacles, he could not just go to school, as he needed to make money, he also was not in the top tier of his high school class with respect to grades in order to get additional help from scholarships or grants.
What he does have; is some talent, but more importantly, some desires, that for the most part have been curtailed because he has to make a living. He is very interested in graphical arts/anime, and how it is done. He also has other talents that he might pursue.
What if there was a place, lets call it "Jump Start America", where young adults if they could not attend college, could go to and receive a more accelerated type of education. I would envision either 17in or 19in laptops given to each student, or abandoned schools set up with class rooms, where by the new students get connected via broadband where they receive direct instructions in the form of video, live classroom, or other educational means. Call it a type of remote schooling. Additionally, there would be live classrooms set up at the various centers of knowledge (as an example, lets say the student wanted to be a mechanic, the system would have a location to go to for hands on training, or a nursing student going to a local hospital for actual walking of the floors). Yes this would take on a rather large infrastructure, but at 1/100th the cost, why? Because the instruction would be from fewer instructors, they would be done via video, or interactive video, where you would not need as many also it would be greatly accelerated to the specific interest. It would focus on the specifics of the job, but do it thru distance learning, with the twist of local support infrastructure for the hands on piece.
As I stated, this probably isn't entirely new, but here is the twist. As we identify the types of trades/training to be provided (ie, a Plumber, a Mechanic, a Nurse, etc), we also decide what that type of profession would earn per year. Example, lets say a nurse would make on average $40k a year. We would give the student during the training and education a monthly "wage" to pay for living expenses/ Health Benefits, etc. The student would agree to pay 1/10 of their yearly salary back to the foundation for 10 years. True, it may or may not cover all the costs, but that is not what this is about, it is a way to pay back the system to keep it going.
So, as an example. My nephew wants to be a graphical artist, and with a slant towards CGI. He enrolls in a program for CGI training. He receives a large laptop and has a connection to broadband, or, he can get to a local center (old school, or some other type building) that has a classroom. He goes thru intensive CGI training, accelerated training, during his first say six months he learns the basics, and now is trained on how to produce CGI animation. He then interviews with industry (say Disney, or Lucus Films, etc) and he is accepted to go thru a 6 month internship (all while still being paid a wage from the foundation). After 1 year, he is ready to be a Jr. CGI programmer. He finishes the training, and is hired by one of the studios. His first year salary is $50k. Each year, he pays back $5k a year, or $417 a month.
Yes there is a lot more to this, as I have stated before, I have many ideas that need to be flushed out, and tested. But to the foundations request, this is a direct example.
I thought about my nephew who is under 26. He graduated from High School with a passing GPA. He wanted to go to some sort of secondary education, but could not afford the schooling. He had to find work, have health benefits, and pay normal living expenses. He had two main obstacles, he could not just go to school, as he needed to make money, he also was not in the top tier of his high school class with respect to grades in order to get additional help from scholarships or grants.
What he does have; is some talent, but more importantly, some desires, that for the most part have been curtailed because he has to make a living. He is very interested in graphical arts/anime, and how it is done. He also has other talents that he might pursue.
What if there was a place, lets call it "Jump Start America", where young adults if they could not attend college, could go to and receive a more accelerated type of education. I would envision either 17in or 19in laptops given to each student, or abandoned schools set up with class rooms, where by the new students get connected via broadband where they receive direct instructions in the form of video, live classroom, or other educational means. Call it a type of remote schooling. Additionally, there would be live classrooms set up at the various centers of knowledge (as an example, lets say the student wanted to be a mechanic, the system would have a location to go to for hands on training, or a nursing student going to a local hospital for actual walking of the floors). Yes this would take on a rather large infrastructure, but at 1/100th the cost, why? Because the instruction would be from fewer instructors, they would be done via video, or interactive video, where you would not need as many also it would be greatly accelerated to the specific interest. It would focus on the specifics of the job, but do it thru distance learning, with the twist of local support infrastructure for the hands on piece.
As I stated, this probably isn't entirely new, but here is the twist. As we identify the types of trades/training to be provided (ie, a Plumber, a Mechanic, a Nurse, etc), we also decide what that type of profession would earn per year. Example, lets say a nurse would make on average $40k a year. We would give the student during the training and education a monthly "wage" to pay for living expenses/ Health Benefits, etc. The student would agree to pay 1/10 of their yearly salary back to the foundation for 10 years. True, it may or may not cover all the costs, but that is not what this is about, it is a way to pay back the system to keep it going.
So, as an example. My nephew wants to be a graphical artist, and with a slant towards CGI. He enrolls in a program for CGI training. He receives a large laptop and has a connection to broadband, or, he can get to a local center (old school, or some other type building) that has a classroom. He goes thru intensive CGI training, accelerated training, during his first say six months he learns the basics, and now is trained on how to produce CGI animation. He then interviews with industry (say Disney, or Lucus Films, etc) and he is accepted to go thru a 6 month internship (all while still being paid a wage from the foundation). After 1 year, he is ready to be a Jr. CGI programmer. He finishes the training, and is hired by one of the studios. His first year salary is $50k. Each year, he pays back $5k a year, or $417 a month.
Yes there is a lot more to this, as I have stated before, I have many ideas that need to be flushed out, and tested. But to the foundations request, this is a direct example.
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