Teachers as Programmers? Get Real

[Don Asbridge]

Hi all,

CAUTION:  early morning ramblings to follow!

Here are two more cents to add to the conversation (or one cent, 
depending on your views!):
Note:  many of these ideas have already been addressed, I'm just 
putting my slant on them...

1) There are three kinds of teachers:  a) those who program, b) those 
who don't program, and c) everyone else.

2) Teachers who see a need in their class/subject but don't find an 
available solution, will seek solutions to the problem/question (those 
are the teachers who may look at RR as a possible method/strategy to 
help deliver educational services).

Corollary:  teachers who see a need in their class/subject and do find 
an available solution, will consider purchasing it.

Therefore it is a "win-win" situation for all of us in the RR 
community:  we can develop applications to provide necessary 
methods/strategies for teachers and/or we can provide a great creative 
solution (i.e., RR) for teachers who are looking to creatively develop 
their own strategies using computer technology.

-- we can sell RR to teachers who are interested... or
-- we can use RR to develop useful applications to sell to teachers!

But there is a bigger picture:  the students.  Several of you have 
mentioned the students.  Students are the ones with the money (and the 
time, motivation, creativity, learning drive, energy, etc.).  Marketing 
directly to students seems the way to go.  But instead of expecting 
"teachers to teach students to use RR," expect the students to use RR 
to take the older generation into the information age (the children 
shall lead).

Instead of teachers using RR to teach the students... allow the 
students to use RR to change the world!

Teachers, like all other humans in all other professions, fall 
somewhere on the normal curve.  There are teachers who program a lot, 
teachers who never program, and the millions of shades of gray in 
between.  But this concept holds true for all professions.  Can lawyers 
use RR?  Psychologists?  Judges?  Construction Workers?  Social 
Workers?  Secretaries?  Etc.?

Some secretaries use RR a lot, some never use it, and some do 
sometimes.  I guess what I'm saying, is, market RR to the whole 
world... don't limit it just to educators.

The most appealing aspects of RR to me are:
1) it can help me meet the needs of my profession and my clients (i.e., 
students).  Professional/useful.
2) it doesn't take a six-year Master's Degree to learn RR.  
Educational/training/practicality.
3) it can build on, expand, continue the HyperCard (or MetaCard, 
SuperCard, HyperStudio, etc.) experience/dream.  
Mythology/symbolism/emotional.
4) it's fun.  It's true there is a learning curve, but it's not like I 
have to remember 9000 principles over six years and then take at 
test... I can sit down, and the next thing I know I've created 
something cool!
5) it's [relatively] inexpensive.  We've discussed this concept to 
death, and hey, everything costs money right.  As a consumer, I feel I 
am spending my money wisely purchasing RR.

So, anyway, I haven't yet signed up for the Monterey Conference... I'm 
hoping to, but can anyone tell me what to expect?  I go to shrinks' 
conferences and everyone just always sits around in their own little 
cliques wringing their hands!  At the Monterey Conference, will I be 
able to meet and talk with a lot of you... maybe even see some or your 
projects... maybe you can see some of mine (I'll show you mine if 
you... oh, never mind!)  Maybe we can establish working relationships, 
working together to turn out a great new product to make millions of 
dollars... maybe becoming programming buddies?  Or will I just attend a 
class or two and then go sit in the bar all night wringing my hands?

Don Asbridge
Bakersfield, California, USA
dasbridge at taft.k12.ca.us
shrink at igalaxy.net


"Don't want to be an American idiot...
Don't want to be under the new media."
      Billy Joe, Green Day