[Year 12 IPM] An Invitation to Lurkers "Teaching Machines"

Tue Nov 15 13:53:56 EST 2005

They should be both.
Learning is a capacity WITHIN a system or organism.  The system controls what is learnt.  IF, as a society we considered children to
be completely free, we would just allow and assist them to learn - what they wanted, when they wanted.
Teaching is a capacity of one system to develop learning within another.  For most organisms and all significant learning (at the
moment), the teaching system requires the active support of the learning system.  As a society, we have crucial interests in both
what and when children learn, so we devise social systems to encourage and coerce their active support. 
As many observer continually remind us, the student systems often fail to learn the things that we want them to and often learn many
unintended knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
Such is life !
IT systems are one way of both increasing the "engagement" through extrinsic motivation (we are learning tables - but on computers
!)  and intrinsic empowerment (you can play with the reactor on screen and see what happens) etc etc
They are both teaching and learning systems (and many other things) - depending on the software loaded, the procedures and the
people involved.
One is not conceptually more important or more effective than the other.
One may be more effective with one groups of students or teaching objective.
"Horses for courses"
=====================================================
Stephen Digby  Ph: 98094785  diggers at netspace.net.au
===================================================== 

If you can't afford to do something right, then be darn sure you can afford to do it wrong. - Charlie Nelson 

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From: ipm-bounces at edulists.com.au [mailto:ipm-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of Nikita Dulics
Sent: Tuesday, 15 November 2005 12:49 PM
To: Year 12 Information Technology Processing and Management Teachers'Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Year 12 IPM] An Invitation to Lurkers "Teaching Machines"

Hi all,
Here is an interesting picture I scanned from an old encyclopedia from the 1970's. The caption reads;
"Teaching machines operate by furnishing the pupils with continuous reinforcement.
A press button system immediately tells them if their choice of answer was correct or otherwise.
From: ODHAMS Mind Alive Encyclopedia, Volume 3, p. 612, 1970."
It is interesting to see how far computers have come regarding their use in schools. Or have they? If you look at the picture,
you'll see the teacher having a good time there looking out the window. Look at one of the students getting distracted. Is it the
same today? Are computers used as teaching machines or are they tools for learning? I'd like to think of them as the latter.
Have fun writing reports,

Nikita Dulics
Stotts College
43-53 Elizabeth Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
ph. 9629 9966

Mark Ke! lly <kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au> wrote: 

For all those of you IPM teachers lurking quietly in the lonely gloom of 
your school, nervous about standing proudly in the light of the mailing 
list and saying what's churning in your innards...

Tear off your loincloth and proudly and loudly say what you think...

This list is for all teachers of IPM. We like to hear new voices. We 
seem to be always hearing from the same old valuable voices, so it's 
nice to hear new points of view.

Be not afeared: I have never seen anyone embarrassed or abused here for 
daring to speak his/her mind. We're really QUITE nice. Well... most of 
us are nice, if you exclude boisterous motorcyclists like Smee and me.

Please feel free to share your opinions - even if you are new to IPM and 
feeling fragile about giving opinions or! asking for advice.

The 2005 exam is the most popular topic at the moment, so please give us 
your views. No question or comment is dumb (except for mine - I have 
that rare privilege here.)

A loud and polyphonic voice goes to making us stronger and sexier*.

If we all crow loud enough, the examiners may hear us!

We may not change the world, but we may change the 2006 exam. Let there 
be no more QUESTION FIVES!

Love and kisses

Mark Kelly

--

* This may not be *strictly* true, but one can hope.

-- 
Mark Kelly
Moderator: IPM Mailing List

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