Learning to learn - using a virtual professor?
by
Charlie Bess
While talking with Thomas Friedman about the issues that need to be overcome by the middle class work exiting offshore, one of the topics we discussed was the need to have greater diversity of perspective and experience.
I saw this article about FSU's investigations into the type of virtual professor that students liked to learn from, and it made me question - Is this a good idea? How does having the kind of computer modeled teacher we want to learn from really help us advance the capabilities of our students? See demo.
I can understand how it will help mass produce knowledge and capability, much like modern farming techniques help us mass produce a hybrid of corn. But will these students all fall victim to the same blight? It may be useful in a pinch for those "factory" classes that need to be taken in mass, but it can't be good for core classes.
It may be the diversity of interest and experience that keeps our students innovative and determined. I wonder if they can get that interacting with a model.
Thomas stated during our brief meeting that a student once asked him "Who will teach me how to learn how to learn?" He said his flippant answer was "Find out who your friend's favorite teachers are and take classes from them." I somehow think that having your friends say "I like the blue one," may not be quite the same thing.
