The Dying DVR Box and Woz Wisdom 207
Lucas123 writes "At SNW in Santa Clara this past week, a diverse group of techies shared insights into their industries, such as the DVR market. TiVo's senior director of IT, Richard Rothschild, for instance, explained how those set-top boxes track everything you watch for advertising and marketing and then combine the information with supermarket membership card data to determine how effective ad campaigns are. Oh, and TiVo's planning to integrate its box with your flatscreen, so no more set-top device. And Steve Wozniak attacked the American education system, saying students should be graded on a single, long-term project rather than a short learning/testing cycle. 'In school, intelligence is a measurement,' he said. 'If you have the same answer as everyone else in math or science, you're intelligent.'"
I'm sorry... (Score:5, Funny)
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So basically what you’re saying is you’re not in favor of taking chances and living life to its fullest. Woz is a brilliant, creative man who instead of focusing his life on earning as much money as he could, went off to teach 5-8 graders for 8 years after leaving Apple. I think his comments on education and especially on creating an innovative atmosphere in our schools have a great deal of validity.
Ever work on a project team in school? Not quite like it is in the shop, where layabouts who contribute nothing eventually get reduced out (or promoted to management, if you believe everything you read in Dilbert.) In school we had people on our teams who did zilch nada, but still put on a suit and tie for presentation day. Really gave me a warm feeling, knowing they got the same credit those of us who worked on it got.
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but still put on a suit and tie for presentation day. Really gave me a warm feeling, knowing they got the same credit those of us who worked on it got.
You mean they made the effort to put a suit on, must have been a high quality outfit :-), and by the way you ungrateful miscreants, it's called "support"
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He did that worm thing real well, though.
I'm sorry (Score:3, Funny)
I feel at least partially responsible for this. When I was working for a large cable TV head-end provider, I pitched this exact idea to upper management. Not as a way to track people, but as a way to prove to advertisers that cable advertising was effective.
I was told that the idea was unworkable and stupid, but six months later was put in charge of a project to roll out the 'brilliant idea from one of or top executives'.
So yeah, sorry everyone.
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Meh, that's nothing. 11 years ago I was pulling this data from Comcast cable boxes. I could give you the EXACT number of cable boxes that were on what channel at any moment. Cross pull from the advertising traffic and Billing database and I was generating a webpage that you could type in a advertisers name and it would give you a report of the number of people that were watching their commercial EACH TIME IT WAS ON. the sales people in the local DMA that I worked went ape shit over it and used it to sell
Education and Woz... (Score:5, Insightful)
'In school, intelligence is a measurement,' he said. 'If you have the same answer as everyone else in math or science, you're intelligent.'"
Well.. not really. Schools don't measure intelligence, they measure compliance and effort. If you're intelligent and willing, it's easier to comply with "memorize this crap" and "be able to solve math problems in this form" - but grades are not intended to measure intelligence, nor are they good at doing so. Nor would it make sense. The feedback mechanism grading is requires something you can change - and that's why grades usually target things that all students are capable of and that are easy to evaluate: memorization, putting time into a report, etc..
At issue, he said, are rules that tell each student exactly what they should be studying and when.
Everyone knows there's more effective ways to teach, but it's also clear why teachers have structure: how else are you going to address the needs of 30 different students - many of whom don't want to be there - and keep them all doing something vaguely productive?
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Everyone knows there's more effective ways to teach, but it's also clear why teachers have structure: how else are you going to address the needs of 30 different students - many of whom don't want to be there - and keep them all doing something vaguely productive?
Good point. Also, Woz might have a skewed teaching perspective. Los Gatos, CA is a wealthy, insular Silicon Valley enclave (80% white, 10% Asian, small bits of "other"). So, what should we expect from the kids? High motivation, lots of parental support (not to mention intelligent parents), and plenty of money for the nice surburban schools. Let's see him try the same stuff in the middle of LA.
Beyond that, what's the point of our education system? Is it to provide an adequate (though not necessarily grea
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It depends greatly upon how competent the teachers are at assessment. One of the big problems is that these periodic tests just don't work very well. And the big standardized tests are essentially a complete waste of time and we're likely better of ditching them entirely.
The problem is that by the time you get to the end of the unit exam, it's way too late to do anything about any lack of knowledge. Doing small assessments constantly at least gives you some ability to make adjustments and clarifications as
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Excellent post. I couldn't have said it better.
Hell, having only 30 students in a class is a joy compared to a full load of 36 or an overload upper limit of 38. You'd be surprised at how much of a difference 2-3 students can make.
25 and lower is the "magic" number where class size is most effective.
Same answer? (Score:2)
'If you have the same answer as everyone else in math or science, you're intelligent.'"
Hmm, someone doesn't understand the importance of being able to reproduce the exact results for a given equation. I was required to show my work when I learned long division and that trend continued through trigonometry and calculus. The measurement of "intelligence" is being able to demonstrate that you understand the concepts behind the math and science you are doing...not just picking a random answer on a multiple choice question.
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'If you have the same answer as everyone else in math or science, you're intelligent.'"
Hmm, someone doesn't understand the importance of being able to reproduce the exact results for a given equation. I was required to show my work when I learned long division and that trend continued through trigonometry and calculus. The measurement of "intelligence" is being able to demonstrate that you understand the concepts behind the math and science you are doing...not just picking a random answer on a multiple choice question.
I wrote 42 on every test in high school. As much as it was the answer to the ultimate question about life, the universe and everything, but I also did some of the problems and wotnot just to be on the safe side.
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Someone doesn't realize who exactly it is they are talking about.
You really think that Woz doesn't understand the importance of being able to reproduce the exact results for a given equation? Do you know who Woz is?
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Someone doesn't realize who exactly it is they are talking about.
You really think that Woz doesn't understand the importance of being able to reproduce the exact results for a given equation? Do you know who Woz is?
Woz is of course speaking of the ideal school which has unlimited resources. Meanwhile, in California, most elementary schools have had budgets slashed so severely they went from 18 pupils per teacher to 30 pupils teacher, which means Class Size Reduction isn't very important to people, otherwise they'd be rioting over such a trend. Go ahead and run Woz's idea past some other teachers, see what they think.
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Do you know who Woz is?
Of course. Woz - it's an abbreviation for the Wizard of Oz.
In other words, he's the former shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals - Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith.
How long a project? (Score:4, Insightful)
In the article (yeah, I really read his part) Woz's says that projects can take up to years. He never expounded on how these long-term projects should take, or at what level he would like to implement them. From kindergarten to 5th project. 6th-9th? 10th-12th? K all the way through 12th? I like his premise, but then he goes off and says he developed the floppy disk for Apple in 2 weeks. Is that long term? Woz is a really smart guy and has done tons of good, but bring some clarity when you are declaring the need for changes. I personally agree with him that a, say, semester long (2 to 4 months) project should be able to teach a lot more than the memorize, test, & forget form of study. Longer than that and you are most likely getting into implementation phases.
My 2 bananas worth.
class where you can just cram for the test need (Score:2)
class where you can just cram for the test need to go and be replaced with a group project for the grade and get rid the filler classes that are full of stuff like this.
Who likes integration? (Score:2)
I would potentially buy a new big screen if it had netflix or pandora integrated but would never buy one with a blu-ray, dvd or hard disk. How many of you like bundling failure-prone or potentially outdated devices into your most expensive component?
Two Topics at once? (Score:4, Interesting)
This is fucking stupid.
Are we discussing the education system or are we discussing set top boxes?
These are two completely different topics and should not be merged like this.
Re:Two Topics at once? (Score:5, Funny)
This is fucking stupid.
Are we discussing the education system or are we discussing set top boxes?
These are two completely different topics and should not be merged like this.
You're right, of course, we should discuss the merits of the discussion, thus adding yet another thread to it.
Oh Woz. (Score:3)
First of all, you're graded on getting the answer right (often including showing how you arrived at your answer), not on your agreement with your classmates. If 90% of your classmates got the same wrong answer, you aren't "intelligent" for getting the same answer as they did. Second, if everyone in your class gets the same answer, then something is very wrong - probably the course-work is way too easy.
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It's called a dissertation/thesis... (Score:3, Insightful)
And Steve Wozniak attacked the American education system, saying students should be graded on a single, long-term project rather than a short learning/testing cycle.
Those of us who want to become scientists or mathematicians (like myself) do get "graded" on a single, long-term project (I have 200+ pages of evidence of that at home). The only problem with a single project for the WHOLE grade is that if by chance something goes wrong (bad reagent or protocol) or it didn't work like you expected (*sarcasm* because nothing ever goes wrong in science *sarcasm*) you would have to spend more time (months+++ ?) or the project might fail. If your a grad. student you make due and move on but, I think that would completely demotivate most high school students. Besides K-12 is the time/place to learn the basics, like the multiplication tables, the periodic table, language, writing, etc., with some small projects to augment book knowledge. I can guarantee that I would not have been successful in my graduate career if I didn't have the 16+ years of structured education and short testing cycles that Woz has an issue with. And if I was only graded on a single project as a young student I might have failed early on and did something else than science.
what a bunch of morons (Score:2)
Mr. Wozniak: people often "have the same answer" because in math, science, and engineering, there are a lot of answers that are objectively true and unique. And I don't know what kind of rotten high school you went to, but many high schools do reward creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.
Mr. Rothschild: haven't you heard? The current for-profit invasion of people's privacy is through social networks and ad networks; you're in the wrong business.
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...clearly someone suffering from not actually bothering to read the article.
A common affliction here at Slashdot.
Although even without that it still belies a certain 16th century mentality.
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Re:I really like Woz but.. (Score:5, Insightful)
He might not have a degree in education or post grad in this field, but he has run a school and tutoring facilities for years out of his garage. I can only imagine this is a large garage. He also has a few charity orgs that are tasked with eduction...having served on the board of a charity like this, you quickly learn whats going on...often to a larger extent than those that are invested in their education because they want to appear right regardless of proof of being wrong -- where as the charities want to change something.
I have advanced degrees in psych with focuses on experiential learning and measurement (of learning / IQ / whatever). I can safely say I agree with his assessment. A lot of graduate programs focus on measuring overall knowledge through a final paper or otherwise...the rest is just bench marks along the way to show you if you understand the material and really only beneficial to the student. I've heard him talk about this stuff in the past, and I'd say he is exactly right...
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I'll agree with Woz if he's talking about collegiate schooling. However, in grade school, particularly in primary grade school, school is about knowledge almost exclusively (well, and social interaction). Testing at this level (and any level) is primarily designed to determine if the teaching methods employed were successful. If one person fails a test, that student failed to learn the material. If every student fails a test, then either the teacher failed to teach the material or failed to write a real
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I have 25 years of experience teaching computer science to students at all level of academia.
And most students who came to my courses came either because they found it interesting or because I had the reputation of being "difficult" but with the "midas touch" (basically if you had enough credit with me you where pretty sure to get an interesting job).
And I totally agree with Steve Wozniak.
First only long term projects can really check if the subject you are studying has any interest for you, too many people
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At the same time, I think there's immense value in giving regular feedback to students. I'm most fond of unified smaller projects which lead up to larger projects, with guidance along the way. Imaging starting a year-long course by saying "Everyone, build a content management system!" and not providing any indication of how they're doing until the end.
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An interesting example is the construction of "ingres" that started as a "large project development" course...
I agree that feedback and small steps are necessary, but it can be done within the scope of a large project..
If you start by "everyone, build a CMS" you will also want to decide if you run it as "n projects" or a project in n parts" and you'll have to make sure tat somewhere basic project management methods have been or are being teached...
And what is happening now in most of the case it that stude
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Well if you had no idea, obviously he doesn't.
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I had no idea that he has a degree in education or did postgraduate studies in education or even home schooled his own children. Is this just as iffy as a Musical composer telling an engineer how to build a bridge?
I watched a movie about building a bridge and defeating Japanese troops. That makes me an expert on two things - I can now defeat the North Koreans, bridge the Tacoma Narrows and for an encore I'll fix Fukushima Daiichi with a wad of chewing gum.
Yeah, Woz is a cool guy, but when you quote people outside of their core competency don't expect them to come across as competent.
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Many would Woz is the bridge builder, and educators are the movie watchers, not the other way around.
Wozniak taught fifth grade ... (Score:5, Informative)
I had no idea that he has a degree in education or did postgraduate studies in education or even home schooled his own children. Is this just as iffy as a Musical composer telling an engineer how to build a bridge?
You are correct, you have no idea. After leaving Apple Wozniak gave back to the community, literally, as a fifth grade teacher at a local public school. He instructs teachers on the use of technology. He also setup and helped maintain, personally, computer labs at local schools. So he does know a little about child education.
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There are several issues with project based learning. First the student must have skills outside of those tested on average high school exit or college entra
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My father is a leading authority on education & training in Asia but does not have a teaching degree. Just because you are unable to think outside what you have pigeon holed yourself in doesn't mean others cant.
Aside from this, advances in teaching tend to come from people outside teaching. Unfortunately people use teaching as a fall back if they can't figure out what they want to do after university. I've watched this happen to a lot of friends and family. They get a degree, can't figure out what they
Could you at least try to have a idea? (Score:2)
Perhaps not, but you could at least do a little [wikipedia.org] research before posting your ignorant opinions all over the internet.
I jest. Proceed.
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I like how he tries to compare teaching to civil engineering.
I think all of the engineers I know would be gravely insulted by that sort of comparison.
I would like to see the average "teacher" manage to get through ANY single course in the engineering curriculum.
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I don't know. in 1999, I had to argue with a teacher that there was 27 amendment to the US constitution and not 25. This teacher was the government and civics teacher in the high school my neighbor went to and was the only question missed out of 100 on a test I helped him study for.
It took 3 days of arguing and a back issue of the New York times to get his score corrected.
It could be any teach in any course. They seem to have to be so diverse nowadays that I'm not sure any of them are truly able to speciali
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I'd certainly expect the average engineering "teacher" should be able to get through ANY single course in the engineering curriculum.
As long as the people teaching their subjects are competent teachers of that subject, I don't expect it matters if the art faculty are especially skilled in biochemistry.
Re:I really like Woz but.. (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm not quite sure why you used quotes on teacher, but, seeing as how I have a Bachelor's in Electronic Engineering and I am a teacher, I'd say I meet your request.
Personally I find my career in teaching to be far more enjoyable and emotionally rewarding than designing circuits ever was. Are there flaws in the U.S. educational system? Of course there are. Rather than piss and moan about it, why don't you actually get off your ass and do something about it? Try volunteering in a public school near you. See what the actual demands are from the other side of the desk. See what differences there are between a good teacher who gets students interested enough in material to get them to improve, often against competing forces that teachers have no control over, and a teacher who is just punching a clock. There are plenty of the latter, but you'd be surprised at how many of the former there really are... Or at least were before they caved to the pressure placed upon them by administrators, parents, and various levels of local, state, and federal government.
Until you are willing to do something about it, quit acting like an ass and work on opening your mind a bit.
Re:I really like Woz but.. (Score:5, Insightful)
"Rather than piss and moan about [the US educational system], why don't you actually get off your ass and do something about it?"
I do my best to vote for people who will get rid of the public schools' effective monopoly on K-12 education for all but the few; does that count?
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While it is good that you are at least trying something, why not do more? You could put yourself out there as a candidate to make those changes. Better yet, go volunteer, find out what the problems really are, and then place your vote accordingly. Don't just look from the outside, but get involved and look within. Local school boards are often a good place to effect some real changes in the K-12 education system.
I don't quite understand your meaning of, "public schools' effective monopoly on K-12 educat
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Alright, here's an idea:
1. Find those rare teachers who can teach in a manner interesting enough to hold everyone's attention
2. Record their lessons
3. Play those everywhere else.
Alternatively, sit the kids down in front of a computer with *only* Wikipedia, and tell them to write a report on any topic they want.
We're living in the age of supercomputers and Internet for god's sake, waaaaay beyond what science fiction writers thought possible even 30 years ago. Why not learn how to use it?
Re:I really like Woz but.. (Score:4, Insightful)
Your second idea has been implemented a hundred thousand times over minus only Wikipedia. Students get projects, reports, etc on a huge variety of topics, sometimes any topic they want. Making this the only method of education is hideous as it's pretty damned dry getting your entire education from a website. You need some human interaction, discussion, and so much more.
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My kingdom for a sock puppet account with mod points or the ability to post and mod the same discussion.
+1 Knows What is Up (i.e. Insightful)
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> I'm not quite sure why you used quotes on teacher
How can you be a teacher and be that ignorant?
Teaching (outside of a University setting) is something that involves it's own specialized major rather than any requirement to have a background in the subject that you teach. It is the norm to have no academic or industry experience in what you are teaching.
No. The ass is anyone that tries to conflate a teacher and an engineer.
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Nice attempt at deflection of my comment, but let me state my question more clearly...
Why did you feel the need to put quotes around the word teacher?
You are absolutely, 100% correct that teaching is something that involves it's own specialized skill set, as not everyone who is good at something is good at teaching something. The best case scenario is to have someone who is knowledgeable about a subject, very good at the same subject, and able to express that knowledge and ability in a way in which it can
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And I'd very much like to see an engineer working under a system that's comparable to what teachers have to work with. Ultimately, it's the voters and the people who refuse to provide the necessary funding that are primarily to blame. You can't change course completely every couple years and expect to make progress. I have a hard time imagining a system of education so incompetently run that there isn't even one aspect that deserves to be preserved.
Trust me, education is a lot harder to provide than you thi
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While I agree with your sentiment, I sincerely doubt it's funding that's the biggest issue.
You want to fix education? Here's the steps you'll need to take:
First, ditch the zillion middle-managers and "curriculum specialists" (the last school I taught had 300+ employees, and only 40-45 actual teachers), you'd see an immediate improvement in funding, and at the same time remove a lot of the bureaucracy that more often hinders a teacher than helps.
Next, dig through the mountain of idiotic and contradictory rul
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And I'd very much like to see an engineer working under a system that's comparable to what teachers have to work with.
Obviously you've never worked for my employer, who thinks everything can run on steam and pixie dust and the entire department is viewed as some kind of waste of cash that needs to be rid of ASAP.
What teachers have to work with... pfffft. If you're a good teacher, you can worth with a stick and a patch of loose dirt to teach a large variety of subjects.
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And I'd very much like to see an engineer working under a system that's comparable to what teachers have to work with.
Manager: Mr. Smith, the bridge you designed just fell in the bay with 420 commuters on it. 355 are dead. Everyone is suing.
Engineer under Teacher System: Piss off. I have tenure. I'm going to the movies now.
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I would like to see the average "teacher" manage to get through ANY single course in the engineering curriculum.
And I'd like to see the average "engineer" competently teach a class of high school students.
I'm around engineers (engineering faculty, actually) every day, and in my younger years I did a couple of internships at engineering-driven companies. Engineers usually know their specific area backward and forward, but they can be surprisingly ill-informed on most everything else - and, given the personalities and lack of communication skills many of them demonstrate, I suspect most of them would be lousy teachers.
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I consider myself an authority on the education of two people, one of whom (my son) is currently in high school.
My son is getting excellent teaching, and his school is well run. I can find problems, of course, but I can find problems with anything if I bother to look. The only sizable one was bullying in elementary school; the administration was either unable or unwilling to stop it. Bullying stopped in sixth grade when he moved to middle school.
Yes, I've read the horror stories. Aside from the bul
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I can recognize a train wreck when I see one
So can I. Doesn't mean I know how it could have been avoided.
Re:I really like Woz but.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Considering how many parents basically fuck up their kids, never bother to take any interest in their school and then blame the teachers while subsequently trying to rob teachers of any authority in the classroom when their little monster acts like a shithead? Yes, parents in most cases DO know nothing.
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This is so very true. If I had mod points and hadn't already posted, I'd be willing to give them even to an AC.
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Not only that we have all sorts of laws in most states that say only people with teaching degrees can go anywhere near a class room, and all of them have to do continuing education in the subject of education. We appoint for the most part only education academics to develop curriculum ( well except we we legislate teaching ID ) and design course material etc, etc.
You know what though for the most part even when the Democrats rain down money on it, by most measures our educational system is getting worse.
Re:I really like Woz but.. (Score:5, Insightful)
To a large degree, we don't take teachers advice on teaching. I'm not even sure that most teachers would disagree with Woz. Most of the reason that classes are structured the way they are is because of regulations at the state and federal level. Teachers don't get as much leeway as you think they do.
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So true. So very, very true.
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You can thank No Child Left Behind for a lot of that.
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Things were getting worse faster prior to No Child Left Behind. I'm not sure it stopped the decay but at least we now have to act like something is wrong when a bunch of kids perform under grade level on a standardized test. That's a quantum leap from giving everyone raises and building a new football stadium at academically failing schools.
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Not only that we have all sorts of laws in most states that say only people with teaching degrees can go anywhere near a class room, and all of them have to do continuing education in the subject of education.
You know, most, if not all, schools will gladly welcome volunteers. They can be guest speakers or classroom helpers. There may be need for a background check depending on locality, but I don't know of any school that would turn away a volunteer.
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Well, I actually have done some volunteer work teaching CompSci to HS students and yes its a great way to make a difference. I do think that schools should relax the rules on needed education certificates and such to teach no core subjects at least at the HS level. There are lots of good industry people that would like to teach for a some years and have great experience to offer students. There are lots of young people that could contribute energy too, but the Union establishment in my state is doing eve
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Mod parent up, plz. (Score:2)
As a bonus, your local high school may also have 'advisory committees' (the name varies), which consists of folks actually doing a given subject matter for a living. Their function is to provide input as to what the world at large actually uses, which in turn allows a teacher to give priority to certain lessons over others.
For example, a CompSci advisory committee would likely want the curriculum to emphasize currently used technologies over those which see little-to-no usage out in the real world.
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.... Earth is around 4000 years old?
Yeah, it's pathetic. That's off by another 50%.
You neanderthal (Score:2)
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You need some medicine, you are displaying magical thinking.
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The way the US education system works: 16 weeks of ramming information down student's throats, test, another session of throat ramming, and then Summer off to do nothing - or take more condensed versions of subjects. And in those 16 weeks, there are 8 week or less sessions where you got to cram material for a mid-term or what have you. And the retention rate is - 20% at best. In order to innovate is to be able to remember information and concepts - it allows the brain to stew on it.
For your ability to read the previous post and write your reply thank teachers.
Lord knows their job wasn't an easy one.
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How does someone retain -20%?
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...that's all fine so long as your network holds out and the available "pull" choices suit you.
"Broadcast" is still remarkably more efficient in terms of network bandwidth. Decentralizing the "pull" part will likely make a lot of sense for a good time to come.
Although, I think the real problem with the DVR concept is that a good portion of the target audience really doesn't care and really don't mind the commercials or being at the mercy of the network schedule. Otherwise Tivo Corp would have a much easier
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This really seems like a desperate attempt by Tivo to remain relevant.
Yeah I got that sense too. Especially in this section:
He also sees the DVD going the way of the CD, (sales of which will be overtaken by digital music next year) as streaming video grabs more and more market share. TiVo already partnered with Netflix to create the Watch Instantly streaming-movie service on TiVo HD-compatible set-top boxes.
In the future, likely deals with cable television providers like Comcast and tablet makers such as Apple will allow consumers to customize their television viewing experience. For example, Richard said software integration with mobile devices could allow you to remove those annoying banner ads that sometimes show up advertising one television show as you watch another.
Tablets and other mobile devices will afford future TV viewers the ability to open a second screen on their television that's linked to the content they're viewing. Consumers will be able to exchange comments with online friends about the show, or they'll be able to search for information about the television series or movie they're watching, he said. "So if you like the shoes that woman's wearing on the show while you're watching it, you can search for them and buy them online," Richard said.
1. Watch Instantly: does he mean something other/more amazing with what you can do with PC, Wii, XBox, PS3, IPhone, IPad, and numerous TVs and BlueRay players?
2. No way content providers are ever going to allow customization to -take away- ads. If anything you'll get more 'targeted' advertising.
3. That last one is a hoot. It's the big whammy industry pundits drag out over and over again to explain why their tech is so great: it will grease the wh
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I agree with you in general, but don't hold your breath waiting for the push model to disappear.
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Nope, it's moving toward a "chanel centric" model of streaming junk to you but indentifying you in the smallest details to push advertisements and marketing actions.
And it does follow you around where ever you are....
but customer centric, nahh, no way... (it would be commie anyway, what an idea...)
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Unfortunately, Amazon VOD's subscription feature still has a ways to go before it catches up with TiVo season passes. With Amazon, I can't subscribe to a television show in the middle of a season without also purchasing all previous episodes of that season. And when a new season becomes available, do I have to keep track of it and log i
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...automatically subscribing to new seasons of old shows.
That only makes sense until you realize that this is a default recurring payment transaction you are advocating here.
When everything is on demand, the fact that "recording rules" don't automatically renew themselves is much less meaningful or relevant.
Besides, thinking of only "season passes" is pretty limited thinking even in terms of a Tivo.
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The cable TV industry went out of their way to kill the DVR. there is no reason for all the QAM channels to be encrypted, hey encrypt them to make sure that no unauthorized, as in not blessed by them, devices are receiving the precious content. They tried to get the evil bit passed and barring that they went to encryption to force the evil bit.
Thus it destroys the DVR market. The Tivo is a sad example compared to the ReplayTV and only recently is getting what that setup had 10 years ago.. I used to reco
no as long as they don't have live sports and caps (Score:2)
no as long as they don't have live sports and ISP has small download caps
maybe in your area but not in Chicago! (Score:2)
maybe in your area but not in Chicago!
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TiVo's senior director of IT, Richard Rothschild, for instance, explained how those set-top boxes track everything you watch for advertising and marketing and then combine the information with supermarket membership card data to determine how effective ad campaigns are.
Fuck that shit, I've been running MythTV [mythtv.org] for probably 7 years now and it is (and always has been) far superior to any of that bullshit Tivo has ever delivered.
When it was reported by Tivo that Janet Jackson's [cnn.com] "wardrobe malfunction" was the most replayed moment ever in Tivo history, I just laughed my ass off, as what I had always suspected had just been confirmed... they're watching everything you do.
I wouldn't pause too long on that teeny bopper in a swimsuit if I were you, as it just might get your ass v
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I've never understood how replacing a very efficient broadcast mechanism with a unicast mechanism
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Oh, please, the average home plumbing is more complex than what it takes to deliver a few Mbps to every household; technically, of course it scales. And with caching and intelligent networks, you don't even need a lot more backbone bandwidth than with broadcasting.
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and it does not work on cable tv nor sattelite TV and you can not pull the content off of the box for playback on your ipad/ipod or laptop.
no thanks. I looked at one, the guide data is very limited, and the number of people screaming about dead units scared me away from even buying one to hack on.