The "News" in EducationEducation changes with time. Because of these changes, the face of

The "News" in Education

Education changes with time. Because of these changes, the face of education and access to education are different today. The most obvious change is that there are different things to teach. 16 fact, there is much more to teach. Learning and research have increased greatly in the past century, great advances in science mean that there is much more, information to teach. Some of the ideas of the past were wrong, so the content of books is different. For example, in a beginning biology class today, more than 70% of the information that students learn today was not known twenty years ago. That's an important reason for change! As scientists learn more, there will be more for students to learn.

Another reason for changes in education is that there are new teaching tools. For centuries, schools had no books. The teachers gave by lessons explaining ideas to students. Today teachers and students use books, including e-books. They also use technology. For example, many of them use computers, video, and on-line communication. There are even electronic classrooms. Through interactive instructional television networks (IITV), a teacher can teach students in different places. Their IITV classrooms use radio signals or satellite communication to carry the communication from tower to tower.

There are differences between the traditional classroom and the IITV classroom, of course. However, most of these differences are easy to overcome. Perhaps one student wants to have a private conversation with the teacher. If teacher and student talk on the IITV network, there is no privacy. Everyone else in the class can hear what they say. Therefore, their conversation, must happen over telephone lines or through electronic mail (e-mail).

No one really knows how this change in students' ability to talk privately with a teacher changes the educational experience. Some students decide not to talk to the teacher because it cannot happen naturally after class. She could send an e-mail message or decide not to bother the teacher. This lack of personal contact with the teacher is just one potential problem. Another is that the students in different classroom places cannot speak with one another as easily. One solution to this drawback is the class chat room. To facilitate students' conversation about a topic, the teacher can set up an Internet chat room or a bulletin board. A number of general topics are posted, and the students can write in their thoughts on the topic. Some students are shy of using these kinds of communication tools. Perhaps they don't have access to the equipment, or maybe they don't know how to get to a chat room on the Internet. Communication among students is possible, but it takes place through a medium that is different from voices in a classroom.

On the other hand, there are great advantages to teaching through IITV. Great numbers of students can "attend" the class. Education is not limited to those who are near a university. Another advantage is the ability to show things to students. Every IITV classroom has a padcam TM. This special camera focuses on any picture, book page, or object that the teacher wants the students to see. The camera focuses on a rectangle--the pad. A teacher can put a picture, for example, on the pad of the padcam TM. The padcam has a zoom lens. Therefore, the teacher can focus on tiny things in the picture and make them much bigger than life. Art history teachers and anthropologists love the padcam TM. They use it to make their lessons more interesting. They can show details with ease.

Computer programs such as Power Point connect easily to the electronic equipment in interactive television. Therefore, the presentation of ideas can happen quite well. The teacher can put the main ideas on the screen, so the students know what the main ideas of the lesson are. Another advantage is the ability to i

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