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I recognised his trademark passionate speech (02:43) about using technology to improve education. Laden with superlatives, it's just like every Apple product l

I recognised his trademark passionate speech (02:43) about using technology to improve education. Laden with superlatives, it's just like every Apple product launch since the iPod. It's a great pity that education hasn't actually changed a bit in the intervening time. Computers are pretty much just used for teaching computers, as electronic typewriters and libraries, and to cut down on admin. They really are not used as learning aids, as 'simulated learning environments' or anything similar. There's still a huge way to go in using IT in education. I think the Khan Academy is one step, the opening up of journals is probably another. We're a long way off what Jobs visualised even back in the late eighties.

kmfrk 15y ago
I recognised his trademark passionate speech (02:43) about using technology to improve education. Laden with superlatives, it's just like every Apple product launch since the iPod. I think having Dan'l Lewin[1] and his strong ties with academia had a lot to do with this. [1]: He doesn't have a wiki (for shame), but here's his LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dan-l-lewin/7/953/852 http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dan-l-lewin/7/953/852.
pjin 15y ago
Actually, his primary example of "simulated learning" is more modest than you put it. Essentially, researchers really did and still do want to have computers as a tool for performing experimental simulations and using computing for communication. Computing has been "marvelous" in advancing what scientists have been able to in the past couple of decades, and Apple is still very prevalent here today. For example, even today the "workstation" is still quite common in labs. Where I work, I see a lot of 8-core Mac Pros. Huddled away under desks are old G4s and G5s. What do we run on these machines? MATLAB, Mathematica, heavy Fortran compilers, expensive microscopes, and almost-real-time experimental setups. In other words, all stuff vital to scientific experiment and computation. Yes, he broadly lectured on "higher learning," but it is no surprise to me that the Web was born on a NeXT computer at CERN and not anywhere else. On the other hand, it is true that we have not seen the "simulated learning environments" or other AI-esque dreams from the 80s materialize in modern computing. At least not as we thought we understood them: OpenCourseWare, Khan Academy, and Stanford Online Education have begun to revolutionize the "learning" half. And as for open publications, well, the arXiv is 20 years old now (nearly the age of the Web!), the NIH requires open access 6 months after publication, etc. We're definitely not there yet, but I think we're on the right track. If there were one thing though which would mark a great leap in progress, it would be Open Data. The incentives don't really exist today for open data---data can be like a trade secret to be hoarded for publications, and getting ahead in academia is all about getting there first before you get scooped. We need broad, systemic changes.
ntoshev 15y ago
It's a great pity that education hasn't actually changed a bit in the intervening time. I wonder how much of Steve Jobs' visions about the future turned out wrong (didn't happen) but in the end it didn't matter.
dangero 15y ago
"It's a great pity that education hasn't actually changed a bit in the intervening time. Computers are pretty much just used for teaching computers, as electronic typewriters and libraries, and to cut down on admin. They really are not used as learning aids, as 'simulated learning environments' or anything similar." I have to disagree with that. In my wife's second grade class the kids have electronic voting controls at their desk and a giant touch screen hangs on the front "chalk" board where kids can interact with various group learning applications.
ryanhuff 15y ago
Not true. Technology is used regularly at my kids elementary school. As a small example, at first grade, they start use an online reading comprehension program, and all of the classrooms (K-5) have interactive boards with cool remotes that allow students interface in real time with the teacher's teaching material. Its pretty interesting polling students in real time on what their thoughts are on a given subject matter, and seeing the results in the screen in real time.

kmfrk 15y ago

I recognised his trademark passionate speech (02:43) about using technology to improve education. Laden with superlatives, it's just like every Apple product launch since the iPod. I think having Dan'l Lewin[1] and his strong ties with academia had a lot to do with this. [1]: He doesn't have a wiki (for shame), but here's his LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dan-l-lewin/7/953/852 http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dan-l-lewin/7/953/852.

pjin 15y ago

Actually, his primary example of "simulated learning" is more modest than you put it. Essentially, researchers really did and still do want to have computers as a tool for performing experimental simulations and using computing for communication. Computing has been "marvelous" in advancing what scientists have been able to in the past couple of decades, and Apple is still very prevalent here today. For example, even today the "workstation" is still quite common in labs. Where I work, I see a lot of 8-core Mac Pros. Huddled away under desks are old G4s and G5s. What do we run on these machines? MATLAB, Mathematica, heavy Fortran compilers, expensive microscopes, and almost-real-time experimental setups. In other words, all stuff vital to scientific experiment and computation. Yes, he broadly lectured on "higher learning," but it is no surprise to me that the Web was born on a NeXT computer at CERN and not anywhere else. On the other hand, it is true that we have not seen the "simulated learning environments" or other AI-esque dreams from the 80s materialize in modern computing. At least not as we thought we understood them: OpenCourseWare, Khan Academy, and Stanford Online Education have begun to revolutionize the "learning" half. And as for open publications, well, the arXiv is 20 years old now (nearly the age of the Web!), the NIH requires open access 6 months after publication, etc. We're definitely not there yet, but I think we're on the right track. If there were one thing though which would mark a great leap in progress, it would be Open Data. The incentives don't really exist today for open data---data can be like a trade secret to be hoarded for publications, and getting ahead in academia is all about getting there first before you get scooped. We need broad, systemic changes.

ntoshev 15y ago

It's a great pity that education hasn't actually changed a bit in the intervening time. I wonder how much of Steve Jobs' visions about the future turned out wrong (didn't happen) but in the end it didn't matter.

dangero 15y ago

"It's a great pity that education hasn't actually changed a bit in the intervening time. Computers are pretty much just used for teaching computers, as electronic typewriters and libraries, and to cut down on admin. They really are not used as learning aids, as 'simulated learning environments' or anything similar." I have to disagree with that. In my wife's second grade class the kids have electronic voting controls at their desk and a giant touch screen hangs on the front "chalk" board where kids can interact with various group learning applications.

ryanhuff 15y ago

Not true. Technology is used regularly at my kids elementary school. As a small example, at first grade, they start use an online reading comprehension program, and all of the classrooms (K-5) have interactive boards with cool remotes that allow students interface in real time with the teacher's teaching material. Its pretty interesting polling students in real time on what their thoughts are on a given subject matter, and seeing the results in the screen in real time.