Who thinks community colleges provide a good education within a two year period?

A New Way of looking at education

I would like to share with you a way that the government could spend a little and get a lot. An educational website. In almost any degree of application, the dollar for dollar payback would be better than almost any dollar spent by the government on education right now, including teachers salaries. Allow me, if you will to explain a system and how it might be implemented in both a chronological and degree of integration.

Step One would be an administrative site. By establishing a database of students and their test results, we would have a tool to measure and verify all included arrays. A house of records, easily sortable depending on the purpose, would streamline many educational administrative processes. No physical records would be needed to transfer from school to school, the information available instantly to a students new school. Unauthorized access easily controlled by simple, standard, already written programing and established security protocols. The benefits of a computerized database enable rapid, customizable and multilevel analysis. District, school, teacher, and student data could be instantly and separately accessed. It could contain early and accurate verification data that would both supplement the accuracy and ease the burden of running the E-verify site. This would be a relatively modest gain or change, but it would cost a microscopic amount of tax dollars to implement. This would be a necessary framework, but not the imagined purpose for the rest of the concept

Step two,Testing. Standard testing would finally be standardized. Skill levels could be much more accurately and comprehensively assessed. By the wide range of skills that would be tested, teaching just to pass a test would be impossible. Public, private and home-schooled students would be tested in an even handed way that was less vulnerable to tester's influences. This also increases automatic and enhanced function to step one.

Step Three is actual teaching via the website. It is unarguable that both the cost and quality of education would be improved by using a computer by all but extremely technophobic of the old guard. It is more than obvious that computers skills and interfacing are essential to function in society and only becoming more so. Although not a live human, software based education can have many interactive features not available in a one to twenty five to thirty teacher student ratio. Software, by design, has an ultimate patience and individual pace sensitive format. Students move along as they can, not holding back or rushing anyone but their own application being immediately and cumulatively rewarded. I believe that this would make for increased motivation due to the immediate reward and less disincentive resulting from falling behind and the negative self image as well as boredom because of a slow pace. Although maybe it isn't a replacement for more traditional teaching, it is an augmentation that would be available to virtually every student independent of the learning venue, whether that is public, private or home-schooled. Due to the broad availability of the internet, the re-usability and durability of educational software, and the relatively microscopic cost of implementing; pennies invested would pay back dollars immediately and repeatably.

The fourth step to me would have the most profound effect and will be felt all over the world as America passes it's accomplishments from the “glory days” and retaking it's old records and establishing new ones. Simply, expand the education offered to include the appropriate trade school, vocational and collegiate courses and make it available to every citizen. Undeniably, there are certain skill sets that online education would not be appropriate for. Sometimes physical training is the best or only way, but there are a great majority of skills needed , especially for the jobs of the future, can be taught online. This relieves the cost of education dramatically for both the individual and the country. Simultaneously increasing the effectiveness of live, lab style classes by providing partially trained and previously tested students. At this point it may be cheaper to have this system in place along with government paid “Lab” sessions, than what we spend currently on grants alone.

Some of the costs of doing this large “Website/system” can be avoided by using a system of trading. Personal live tutoring and lab instructors could be elements added.
Students using their new skills to reinforce their own learning and help the fledgling or struggling student. Spend less money for a twofold increase in effect.

I would like to suggest that the full implementation of this e-school system would be the most potent and effective response to the lagging education of our work force in a time when the government coffers are more than empty. It solves multiple problems, Our educational cost shortages and effectiveness and an increasingly desperate uneducated work force and citizens. It does this with relatively very small money, huge potential effects and an actual increase in personal freedom. This idea is not unimaginable, or unattainable, or even rare. This will be put into use by other countries soon. Can we afford to ignore the facts?

Please feel free to comment on this, whether it is support, additional ideas, criticism or even an insult. If you see credence in my evaluation and concept, share this idea with a link to someone or lend the clout of your organization to this idea to move it forward. I am not opposed to recognition and I enjoy money, but it is most important to have a result. So if you need to, steal this idea, just forward or help popularize it.