Tuesday, March 2, 2010

01020302


At the start of every month I seem to want to blog again, but it just fizzles out as the days pass. Here it goes once again.

This is my latest disgust with the education system: the iTouch. One of the Physics teachers I have run into has a class set of iTouches he got from a grant and he showed me exactly how he uses them in class. There are several apps that can come in handy during Physics experiments or discussions about any number of hard to grasp concepts. Plus, these apps are fun and actually correct. That is more than can be said about prob-ware of old. These handheld computers can collect data and then the teacher can simply use another iTouch or a computer to analyze the data as a class.

Oooopppps. No he can't. The school will not allow the iTouches on the local network via wifi internet. It is a "security issue". How unbelievable is that. Teachers can allocate (on their own time) these wonderful devices that keep students engaged and gaining knowledge, but we have to limit their use to basically impractical demo status. This is an outrage and something needs to be done. I will try my best to get to the bottom of this issue and come back with a more concrete reason than "security issues". By the way- there are no "security issues" with iTouches connected to the secure/limited school network.

Aside from the school stuff, I have been reading C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce and Chapter 5 is especially insightful. If you read this blog Brandon take five minutes and read this chapter if you haven't already.

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