Education and Training

I am glad to see there is finally some research becoming available that is looking at the impact of having students use computers and tablets in the classroom. The verdict is that it has been a disaster.

Aside from studies that show making written notes improves retention, the machines are a distraction...if you are fiddling with your laptop or tablet you are not paying attention. Learning outcomes have plummeted since the introduction of digital technology in the classroom.

Google has helped to fund some middle school buses in Caldwell County, North Carolina with WiFi so that the kids can get some school work done while traveling back and forth to school.

While this is an interesting experiment, the reason behind it is the abysmal state of broadband access in rural America, where whole families have to drive to McDonalds or the local library so mom and pop can get their email and shop, and so the kids can do their homework.

This article in readwrite confirms something I have suspected for a long time: that most successful entrepreneurs are not twenty-three and worth a billion dollars. In fact, according to the article, "...twice as many successful entrepreneurs are over 50 as under 25. A whopping 75% have more than six years of industry experience and 50% have more than 10 years when they create their startup."

An interesting article reporting on Lou Zacharilla's comments from his attendance at a conference on the future of libraries. Zacharilla is the co-founder of the Intelligent Community Forum. Zacharilla noted that....

A MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course. These are online college classes that often have enrollments of many tens of thousands of students in a single class. The concept was pioneered by Harvard and MIT in a joint project called edX, and with the University of Texas joining edX, the movement is going to expand dramatically.

I just stumbled across SmartFlix, which is the education and training version of NetFlix. You can rent a wide variety of training and education DVDs by mail, just like NetFlix. They have many different topics available, ranging from the mundane (cooking videos) to the more sophisticated and esoteric: welding, machine lathe operations, and knifemaking. A lot of the skill-related topics (e.g.

Design Nine recently brought up a new 300 megabit wireless link that feeds a community center and a rural fiber to the home effort (100 residences). The fiber to the home work is still underway, but the community center went online a couple of weeks ago, with both wireless access and a lab with ten fully equipped computers. Local residents of this very rural community have been flocking to the center. Many are bringing their laptops and just using the wireless link to the Internet, and many others are using the computers in the lab.

I spent twelve years working at a major research university, so I have a pretty good idea how some kinds of research works: Identify an area no one knows much about (so no one can refute anything you say), like "Internet addiction." Then run some inexpensive study that turns up some really scarifying outcome ("Too much Internet causes brain shrinkage!!"). Hedge your bets by indicating "we don't really know what this means." Then announce that you really need a lot more money for a really big study that will take years and scads of grad students.

I had the opportunity to stop by Blacksburg High School recently. Mike Kaylor, the head of the BHS Cinema and Photographic Production program, was holding an open house. I've written about the program before, and I was interested to see if the program has kept up its high standards over the past four years. I was not disappointed.

Libraries have a bright future, particularly in small and medium–sized communities. As the Knowledge Economy continues to change the way business is conducted, both locally and globally, libraries can play an essential economic development role as well as enhance community and civic life. Indeed, by changing and adapting their role and mission slightly, libraries could enter a “Golden Age,” where the venerable institution plays a more central role in the community, with a commensurate increase in funding.

India has announced a $35 computer for students. The Linux-based machine is intended to give Indian students at all levels, starting in grade school, access to an affordable computer. I proposed a $100 computer twelve years ago--at that time, no one took it seriously, but I'm glad India thinks it's a good idea.

DirecTV recently announced it was bringing more jobs to southwest Virginia, but these are not traditional jobs. Instead, these are work from home jobs. The company is establishing a virtual call center. Congressman Rick Boucher made a sweep through the region last month to announce the new job opportunities, which amount to 100 new jobs.

Here is an interesting site that just started up--it provides a quick way of finding online degree programs. Whoever is running probably hopes to eventually get some advertising income from it, but nonetheless, it's a useful site. The site also has a blog, with only a few entries, but it has a list of 25 TED talks "that will change your life." I don't know about life changing, but some of the TED talks I've watched have been really good.

Libraries have a bright future, particularly in small and medium–sized communities. As the Knowledge Economy continues to change the way business is conducted, both locally and globally, libraries can play an essential economic development role as well as enhance community and civic life. Indeed, by changing and adapting their role and mission slightly, libraries could enter a “Golden Age,” where the venerable institution plays a more central role in the community, with a commensurate increase in funding.

The Commonwealth of Virginia has announced a new educational program that puts learning materials designed to support the state's Standards of Learning tests on iTunes U. The focus of the program is on the development and distribution of applications for the iPod Touch and the iPhone that can be used by children to help them improve math, social studies, and reading skills.

This short video has been around in various forms for several years. This new version has been updated with current data, and should be required viewing for all educators, economic developers, and elected leaders.

There is now a Wikipedia for schools. It is a selection of 5500 articles and 34,000 images that fit on a DVD. The articles have been vetted for content so that teachers and students can rely on the material being accurate; this solves a longstanding complaint with Wikipedia, is that it is difficult to gauge the accuracy of any given article. With the material on a DVD, it can be used offline, so Internet access is not required.

A radio report this morning indicated that for the first time, more than half of college students are living at home. The high cost of college is causing a spike in enrollments at local two and four year schools, where the students can commute and avoid the high cost of room and board. In a recent conversation with folks at the University of Memphis, they indicated a 20% jump in enrollment for online classes.

A new report by the Kaufmann Foundation indicates that 465,000 new businesses are being created every month in the United States. This probably represents a million jobs or more being created by small businesses every single month. The growth in start ups demonstrates why a community or regional economic development strategy has to include not just business attraction as a strategy, but also business creation.

There are no technology problems when it comes to community broadband. In my work with hundreds of communities, success usually comes down to the kind of leaders that a community has, well, leading. Ed Batista has a great set of resources for leaders, and it is a short list of annotated references, not a two hundred item laundry list. Well worth a look.