Real World Education, Old School Learning

In one of my posts I had mentioned that I had discovered the encyclopedia set being used by students and its last updated print was in the mid 70’s.  Now the 70s I am sure were a great period in life, but really can’t our schools do better than that.  We here the argument of cost, and how much it costs to buy text books!  Maybe that’s the problem maybe we should not buy any more textbooks.  By the time you buy a text book the information is at least 2 years old at a minimum.  Why would you buy something 2 years old and pay the price as if it were new?  We don’t do that with cars or motorcycles, the technology in your IPOD phone is new or at least only a 1 year old at a minimum and I would say more like 6 months old. 

Our school district has been talking about their plans to update rooms and prepare students for the 21^st Century.  The problem is exactly that, the ‘Plan’ part.  Technology moves so fast that essentially our district and many others like it are simply trying to play catch up with no real ‘Plan’ for the future or how to meet the educational demands of our students.  Planning for the past has always been one of the great detriments to our education system.  We continue to buy outdated materials, textbooks, and teach outdated subjects.  As a school system we should be spending money to buy the technology that will save money in the future and that will benefit our students now. 

Case In Point:

The Britannica Encyclopedia set in my sons school that I referenced is a lot of money to replace.  http://www.encyclopediacenter.com/encyclopedia-britannica-2007.html   The set was $700.00 + $50.00 for shipping.  You can buy two students a lap top that will surf the net and get all the information online with that money.  You can order the online version of Britannica for a school the size of my sons and it is updated daily, provides media clips, personal websites for students, teacher resources and curriculum that is also updated daily and meets state required test and educational requirements.  When a school buys it also includes unlimited remote access, for students, parents, and teachers all for 390.00 a year.    Far less than encyclopedia hard copy that only one student can use at a time.  For a district of our size it would cost about $7500.00 for the same features.

And yes for all of those concerned about students that do not speak English they offer it in 30 different languages which, is included in the price.  Its time that teachers and school officials start looking at ways to better provide a real time, real world education for our children.  We should invest for their future, and not pay money for things of the past.    

I included a link to an article from a blogger who is guest writing editorials for CNN about what to possibly expect next year, if he is even close to being right!  Our school districts 21^st Century Plan will be outdated by next summer.  Technology saves school money, time, and improves the experience of learning and results.  We hear over and over again about how we need to save money, I just showed 1 thing that took 2 minutes on the internet and a less than 4 minutes on the phone with the sales representative for our state.  I asked her this question!  “If this is cheaper, faster, better, updated daily, and complies with state standards, why is not in wider use?”  Her response was this, “Teachers and School Officials just don’t get it!”  This is unfortunate because our children get it! 

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/10/cashmore.realtime.web/index.html

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