Obama Proposes Education Technology Agency Modeled After DARPA

Obama Proposes Education Technology Agency Modeled After DARPA

news.sciencemag.org

The Obama Administration has proposed a new agency within the Department of Education that will fund the development of new education technologies and promote their use in the classroom.

In an updated version of its 2009 Strategy for American Innovation, the White House announced today that the president's 2012 budget request will call for the creation of Advanced Research Projects Agency-Education (ARPA-ED). The name is a deliberate takeoff on the Sputnik-era DARPA within the Department of Defense that funded what became the Internet and the much newer Advanced Research Projects Agency-En

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This is not technically "Breaking" as it is from about 3 days ago, so if it must be moved, then I concede. However the guidlines state to put a disclaimer if it doesn't technically meet the guidelines, but still feel like it is Breaking Alternative News quality info. I searched, and couldn't find anything relating to this topic, and this is a very interesting topic indeed.

My take is that applying the same methodology as DARPA to education will yield terrible results. Technology like computers are equal in capabilities, students are not. Furthermore, what IT could be applied to Kindergarten? Does a computer program help you learn shapes faster than a teacher? Are we really willing to replace another job in this market?

And of course, what about the cost? DARPA has a substantial budget... can we expect the same of ARPA-ED? Is that the kind of government we voted in?

Ugh.

news.sciencemag.org
(visit the link for the full news article)

Obama needs to stop writing checks with our checkbook. There are countless good ideas, that does not give the government the right to do them and then send us the bill.

reply to post by sbctinfantry


On the surface, a hard call. BUT. If there IS public education, then why not the best?

...The Internet and computer skills will get kids thinking independently and outside the box WAYY faster than even the best teacher. Which is what we need, imho.

They can start this DARPA-like education system by teaching the physics of the TR-3B antigravity triangle-ship physics. NASA engineers could also attend the classes, along with the school kids, and learn how to build a spaceship.

Stupid
Another govt. dept. that will just eat up money and throw it into red tape and maybe in a few years more regulations that will only deter business and innovation.

Just get govt. out of it, let the free market develop new technologies and if there are new findings it can be incorporated in the classroom just like we've been doing for such a very long time.

As long as these people don't allow calculators or slide rules until college, it sounds pretty cool. My theory is before people develop numeric sense they use calculators and technology in education, which leaves them boned in most scientific and mathematical endeavors which require basic numeric literacy.

reply to post by sbctinfantry


Well in terms of pre school education a computer will be largely useless. Kids are learning more about what they can and cannot do with thier bodies, and what they can and cannot do with shaped objects during that period, so learning to physicaly manipulate real world objects is an absolute must, and must never be replaced with anything less tactile and informative. There is no replacement for what a child can learn by attempting to place a square peg in a round hole. Even changing the interaction from the child to the objects, to the child interacting with a computerised image of those objects would not teach the child as much about reality as it would need to , to accurately replace the basic principles of learning toys, and human interaction.
If a kid is learning more cerebral things than that, then its a different matter. For instance, those who understood the puzzle of the square peg from day one, probably would benifit from educational technology, but pretty much everyone else, is going to recieve ZERO benifit from it until they are at least four, if not five years of age (and really, younger people than that should feel no presure to advance at pace. Forcing information on kids is the surest way to make them hate you, and deliberately forget what they have learned).