I was reading the new issue of Wired magazine this weekend that had an article about MIT putting its courseware online.
MIT OpenCourseWare
I haven't spent much time looking at the courseware so far, but what I have seen does remind me of a belief I have...
"Teaching is all about the Teacher"
The courseware material I went thru didn't seem to be much different from what I have seen in my past. I believe almost by default, courseware material is boring... it is the person that is presenting the material that brings it to life.
1 comment:
Re: Teaching is about the Teacher
I was glad to see an "independent" critic's opinion on teaching material/subjects versus teaching students! The reason this struck me as so relevant now is that USA Today just carried a big article on how states are trying to get rid of teacher certification requirements to make it easier for anyone with a BA degree to be a teacher. Pennsylvania has "streamlined" their criteria by taking BA people and giving them ONE book to read and answer questions about, and that makes them a teacher! This is supposedly to take care of the teacher crisis! Other states "are following it's progress to try the same thing!" As if reading one damn book makes you a teacher!
All of this is just code for not having to pay people in the profession that have certification and licenses, any more money. Let's see, my dr. read a book to get his license, my dentist read one book to get his/hers, my mechanic read a book...how far does this go?!!
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