HN Theater @HNTheaterMonth

Learning tools like this would have saved my teachers a lot of headaches if they were available 10 years ago.

As opposed to the classroom model of: [lecture -> assign work -> grade & return with static feedback], students can actually play with the subject matter during the lesson, instead of turning pens into projectiles or doodling in their books because they're bored to death (not that I know anything about that). Then they get immediate feedback, whether right or wrong, by seeing how the instructor would have solved the problem. That kind of hands on learning, where the student learns through their own trials and errors is much more fun than sitting through a lecture that has to accomodate the varied learning paces of a classroom of 20+ students.

The video posted here unfortunately focuses on the live editing aspect of the app, but you can see the interactive lesson function more clearly in this early prototype video[1].

This kind of interactive learning is the same thing that Sebastian Thrun is working on at Udacity[2]. For all the promise of making university courses available for free online, I think this is the truly disruptive stuff going on in online education, because it's way beyond just filming lectures and throwing them online, it's a fundamental leap forward for education.

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvaaude_1hk [2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75TP3hoPA8U

⬐ barik

> Learning tools like this would have saved my teachers a lot of headaches if they were available 10 years ago.

This type of teaching has a formal name. It's sometimes called course delivery reversal or course flipping, with the idea being that, essentially, the "lecture" is done outside of the class, and the "homework" is done within class. In this way, you can have a subject matter expert present at the time when he or she is actually needed.

I've tried it in my own courses (recording in Camtasia and having students watch the lecture outside of class, where they can rewind, pause, etc.), then dedicating the entire class time to allow the students to actually work problems. More generally, active learning has been gaining popularity in the classroom.

⬐ nickik

There where VM that did basiclly what happens on there. Smalltalk VM could bassicly do this, its quite sad that they where not picked up by teachers very often.

⬐ richcollins

play with the subject matter during the lesson

Kind of removes the need for a "lesson" and teacher, in favor of a facilitator that can go around and help those learning to discover things they hadn't considered.

⬐ robryan

Sounds like what is happening in the lower year levels these days.