Definitely agree with you about issues with monetizing teachers. You would be surprise though to know the kind of things that departments/districts pay for.
I once worked for a company that provided montly conferences to teachers (marketed as professional development courses). Apparently, the districts in our area provided teachers with a budget towards professional development courses and so for the majority of them, they just invoiced the cost of the seminar to their districts.
Not the typical education startup you would think of starting but they're completely self-funded and they seem like they're doing well (with a steady stream of attendees for the last ten years).
Maybe it's just a matter of looking for ways to use the money that is already allocated (but not used) rather than convincing districts to add more to the budget? I know for my former company, the issue wasn't about how teachers could pay for the conferences but rather teachers didn't know they had the money to use for these conferences to begin with.
Sure, you can focus on a few features that allows you to cater to your core market. But, what if they outgrow your program? What if they want to go to the next "level"?
A "deep" program like Photoshop allows for that flexibility. A beginner can start off with perhaps the most basic of features but as they become more comfortable with it, at least they still have the flexibility to move on to the next set of (more complex) features.
One might argue that knowing all these "catch-up" details beforehand (through Facebook) could allow for more deep conservations when people meet up - they can immediately dive into the deep stuff and skip the catching up part.
Yet, as you've mentioned, small talk leads to many more tangents than what you'd usually get online. And, if you actually eavesdrop on conservations (or even look at your own), they usually start slow with small talk but eventually build up momentum towards deeper issues.Sometimes we just need time to settle in a conservation and those "what's up" starters usually help in that regard.
All the apps people are making here seem to be confined to course scheduling (whether something conflicts, etc.) or courses we need to graduate. They haven't actually gone into the realm of recommending possible courses we'd be willing to take.
As the article mentions, the schools have all these data they're not using. They can probably predict which students would succeed in courses (they have access to grades), know which similar courses students may be interested in (cross-reference with previous courses taken and see what others have taken with a similar plate) and even "learn" the scheduling habits of the student (see the previous class times the person usually chose for clases - i.e. a morning person scheduling all classes in the morning or someone scheduling all classes at night).
As long as we still have a choice (to accept or reject the recommendation), something like this would be useful (another resource to inform our decisions).
I work in short burst -- maximum 2 hours at a time. After 2 hours, even if my legs weren't tired, I would starting to lose focus. I would then take 15 - 30 mins break to have a tea/walk my dog/yoga/weight lift/talk to spouse/jump rope/shoot hoops, and then continue back again.
I got the basic one (Bamboo) with the smallest possible size (I think it's the 4x6 one). If you're doing design and other complex tasks, it's probably better to have those large ones. For me though, since I only use it for general computing and the occasional design work, having a small one makes it portable (and it fits on my desk!).
Unfortunately though, after years of getting used to the mouse, I do find it hard doing detailed work in Photoshop (i.e. tracing something/colouring something). It probably has to do with me not being used to the tablet but in times like those, I (using the tablet) still don't have the dexterity to manipulate things as well as when using a mouse.
I second this. I think art has the effect of starting conversations. If it makes people talk and think about things in a different way, then, you've started a process of something (potentially) greater.
Yes, something like this is easy for people (easier than doing something perhaps). They'll participate because it's there and there's no commitment (you just write things on the wall). But, what of the people who pass by it and, as Dysiode has said, what if it sparks an idea in them?
It may not directly change the world but it sure can plant the seeds that do.
I once worked for a company that provided montly conferences to teachers (marketed as professional development courses). Apparently, the districts in our area provided teachers with a budget towards professional development courses and so for the majority of them, they just invoiced the cost of the seminar to their districts.
Not the typical education startup you would think of starting but they're completely self-funded and they seem like they're doing well (with a steady stream of attendees for the last ten years).
Maybe it's just a matter of looking for ways to use the money that is already allocated (but not used) rather than convincing districts to add more to the budget? I know for my former company, the issue wasn't about how teachers could pay for the conferences but rather teachers didn't know they had the money to use for these conferences to begin with.