tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604620482023286355.post1772829328088430364..comments2024-03-28T10:50:05.763-04:00Comments on Learning in Tandem: What IBM Watson means for learning, education, and instructional designAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11423343578843915247noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604620482023286355.post-49443075906087335912011-02-18T10:58:40.484-05:002011-02-18T10:58:40.484-05:00@New Buffalo: Agree that the technology is new and...@New Buffalo: Agree that the technology is new and not there yet...but the point is, its getting there. Are our educational systems also changing to reflect our technological advances? I'd argue the gap is widening and widening...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11423343578843915247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604620482023286355.post-70910704323443196492011-02-18T00:13:38.548-05:002011-02-18T00:13:38.548-05:00The technology was good enough to beat Ken and Bra...The technology was good enough to beat Ken and Brad - but given the frequency of wrong answers that Watson didn't buzz in on tells that there is still a long ways to go in getting this technology to be able to provide reliable and accurate information.New Buffalo MI fishinghttp://www.fishseahawk.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604620482023286355.post-72767868177687929692011-02-17T23:20:16.345-05:002011-02-17T23:20:16.345-05:00Dave, thanks for your comment. Its really interest...Dave, thanks for your comment. Its really interesting to me, the values that we reward in the workplace in comparison to the values that we test and assess for in K12 and even higher education. While I, as a mom, want my kids to memorize their multiplication tables (which I think falls into the "basic skills"), I think an inordinate amount of time, especially in middle and high school, is still spent teaching "content." As a former secondary English teacher, I absolutely think skills like writing, research...even grammar!...are critical to success after kids graduate. So why is it so difficult to teach kids these basic skills? What is it about our system of education that still results in those kinds of fail rates that you mentioned? And more importantly...are the skills we're testing for REALLY the skills that predict or help ensure student success once they are graduate? <br /><br />I have lots of questions and opinions on the focus of education, but one thing is for sure. As new technologies emerge, new skills for us to master will emerge too. We need to determine our values in what skills are needed to prepare someone for success. We focus so much of K12 education on skill drills that we aren't spending enough time on teaching collaborative problem solving. <br /><br />We should assess kids on the things we value as a society. I'm not sure what our current testing focus is telling kids about what is important, but I sure don't think it represents the things that they'll be rewarded for outside of the classroom.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11423343578843915247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604620482023286355.post-16039250872511980742011-02-17T14:53:16.600-05:002011-02-17T14:53:16.600-05:00Koreen: Bravo on this post. In Illinois, teacher e...Koreen: Bravo on this post. In Illinois, teacher education programs are now trying to deal with students trying to pass the "basic skills" test. The pass score was raised, in part, as part of the "race to the top" application. The overall pass rate has gone from 80%+ to below 30% and minority students are passing at a rate (under 5%) that almost excludes them from becoming a teacher. The test has now become even more "high stakes" despite, as your post suggests, no correlation to the life of teaching. On the more reasoned side of standardized testing, DePaul U's decision to make ACT or SAT optional for applicants (see Chronicle article today) speaks to the limits of testing and how overvalued and misused it has become.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14103957133237307997noreply@blogger.com