Teach faster and easier with a new concept in teaching aids -- highly-compressed course materials 6-14 in the high-speed, high-powered TV mode in which young people get their information today

• Ideal for preview to open minds, lower barriers, increase receptivity
• Gives overall grasp and relevance, is exciting, reviewable
• An aid for teaching -- not a replacement
• Conceptually new -- NOT BEING DONE AT PRESENT

by Karl Roebling

People today have mental barriers against the onslaught of too much information from too many sources -- most not worthwhile. These barriers impede classroom teaching of important, worthwhile information. Education-Quik materials can greatly lower barriers, raise receptivity. Against the bombardment of so much information from so many sources today -- so much of which isn't worthwhile -- few people listen closely and take in information the first time they hear it.

People learn in the TV mode -- high-energy advanced stagecraft of music, lights, design, constant action, color, stars, experts, celebrities, powerful voices, strong images, soundtracks, picture-in-picture, crawlers, split screens, icons, endless sets, travel and other location backgrounds, computer
enhancements and outright creations -- attention-grabbing and holding, exciting not dull, always moving.

And they learn from the repetition and repetition on TV, so that no one is particularly alert about getting even desirable information the first time.

Education-Quik teaching aids in highly-compressed, ultra-lively, TV style -- which lend themselves to fast but thorough preview and easy review -- can greatly augment standard teaching.

Teaching aids in this mode help to get through the defensive mental shields as students can "check out" the overall material quickly, realize the information is what they want, and then pay closer and deeper attention in class. They can also review at any time. Attention spans are shorter today. Distractions are more numerous, attractive and demanding than ever. In a very real way, schooling must compete.

Outside of schools, most information-transfer today caters to short attention spans -- and people know the information will be repeated often.The quick-cutting in TV commercials and promos has created the "short attention span" that makes traditional teaching difficult.

Repetition is an ESSENTIAL NEW MAJOR FACTOR factor in the transfer of information today, due to television's incessant repetition. It's said the public pays little or no attention to -- for instance -- a TV commercial until the fifth or sixth appearance. Mental shields or screens are up.

In schools, minds overcrowded with all kinds of inputs from all directions and at all hours, are unconsciously (or even consciously) blocking in the classroom, and asking, Do I want to let this in? Has it value? Do I want to make room for it? Does it have any practical use?

By making Education-Quik materials available at or before the start, mental shields, barriers and blocks can change to receptivity.

These materials reveal a specific and thorough but universal curriculum as an aid to a school's particular curriculum, classroom teaching, interaction with the teacher, lab work, field trips, testing, and so on.

There are many forms of good teaching aids that augment courses, but Education-Quik materials are CONCEPTUALLY DIFFERENT, in that they present courses (not digests, not general or tangential information), and present the material IN THE MODE IN WHICH MANY PEOPLE TODAY LEARN. This is not being done at present. It is different in its CORE CONCEPTS, although there is certainly some overlap with some excellent other teaching aids.

Education-Quik materials are not "digests" -- not condensed or precis forms, not headlines and short copy, or sound bites, all of which lose much of the information. Education-Quik teaching aids -- complete -- are so highly compressed that they are not designed to be absorbed in one playing.

Today's vast information has to be condensed -- but without losing the substantial body of information.

(An ad-copy editor once said to his writers, "I can cut your copy in half, and still say more than you are saying." And he could.)

Teaching aids that are full course materials (like a group of college lectures) are far too spread out and time-consuming for most learners, need long attention spans, and are very hard to review.

Education-Quik teaching aids won't eliminate essentials in order to compress information.

Tailored for Education-Quik teaching aids would start out mainly for levels 6-14 (middle and high school, plus 2 years of community or junior college, where there is already a lot of overlap with high school courses, and a lot of speed-up activity for advanced students).

They are excellent for public schools, charter schools public or private, other private and religious schools, and tutoring both inside schools and outside.

CHARLEMAGNE AND EDUCATION-QUIK
Contrast 5 hours with a mere 20 minutes

I've got a five-hour video of Charlemagne. Education-Quik would put all that into 20 minutes and not leave out anything of importance.

The viewer would grasp the significance for world history secular and religious, the time periods, the major players, politics, armies and geography over decades. The viewer would see the costumes, weapons, castles, cities and fortifications, grasp the religions, marriages, involvement of the Catholic Church, types of enemies and how they lived and fought, and on and on -- with music, stars, strong images, sets and travel backgrounds. Crawlers would nail the key points and dates. Pictures-in-picture would show the area maps and many other of the above items. "Bonus" areas on the "menu" can list additional sources, but the main part in this case shouldn't exceed 20 high-powered minutes.

Students could watch the "Quik" in a school library, or take it out, or rent or buy it and companion or related Education-Quik or other aids for a given course. Or watch it on line.

These do not replace classroom teaching. They enable preview, review, the dropping of -- or making more porous -- defensive mental barriers, replacing them hopefully with receptivity, even enthusiasm, and a sense of relevance.

ELECTRONIC PRESENTATIONS

Most information today comes from many electronic sources with advanced high-energy "stagecraft" powers -- lights, design, color, music, stars, powerful voices, strong images, constant action, experts, celebrities, plus an endless variety of sets, travel and location backgrounds, computer enhancements and outright creations.

Most use multiple approaches to the viewer at the same time -- the main picture, picture-in-picture, crawlers, split screens, icons. All of this GETS ATTENTION, IS EXCITING, HOLDS ATTENTION, KEEPS THINGS MOVING, and so on.

Education-Quik course materials use the full-stagecraft electronic mode -- which is how kids (and others) take in information today -- but hold nearly full-course information highly-compressed.

Education-Quik aids make courses easy to preview and review thus making it easy for students to spot weak areas to work on in class, and areas where they are already strong, so they won't be bored in class going over material they already know.

INFORMATION FROM 100 SOURCES -- AND WIDELY
DIFFERENT STUDENT LEVELS IN 40-PERSON CLASSROOMS

Some students come from families with college-educated parents, even parents who might be teachers. Some have had travel opportunities, been to famous museums here and abroad, viewed great architecture, visited Calcutta slums. Some have been inside factories making such things as big aircraft, or shipyards making giant vessels.

On the other hand, some students have never been out of their neighborhoods, and have parents who didn't graduate from high school, but want their children to get an education. Some parents don't care whether their children get an education.

And yet, such wide differences in knowledge and motivations can be found mixed into a single 40-person classroom.

The better equipped student is bored, knows half the material already, wants to move at a much faster pace. The student who knows little may need special help.

Teachers have done an amazing job with the mixed and uneven playing field.

Education-Quik materials can help the more knowledgeable and motivated move ahead, even previewing the next year's courses and early college courses.

Where extra help from teachers, plus extra time, and more classroom work, is needed for slower students, teachers can individualize more than before.

DON'T WE ALREADY HAVE MATERIALS THAT AUGMENT?
YES, FINE TANGENTIAL AIDS, BUT NOT COURSE MATERIALS IN COMPRESSED MODE AND HIGH-POWERED PRESENTATION

The Education-Quik concept is not being done. Yet.

Almost all existing aids are good and useful.

For example, National Geographic has great materials, but they are not course-oriented. (National Geographic has taken me way beyond my college ancient architecture courses, and in a fascinating way, but this augmentation is still not COURSE STUDY. It has some very nice chunks, though. And -- possibly more important than anything -- these chunks keep my interest at a keen edge.)

Education-Quik materials are highly-compressed COURSE STUDY.

DO EDUCATION-QUIK MATERIALS EXACTLY MATCH COURSES AT SCHOOLS?

No - there's no attempt to exactly match local courses of study. Yet in most 6-14 courses, there's core information that "fits all," and teachers can use most, modify some, and leave some out. The materials are not supposed to interfere with, or override in any way, or bypass teaching in public, charter, private, religious, home-schooling or tutoring settings.

The same things apply to the great variety of other teaching aids.

Importantly, teachers have to be on the side of these and other aids if the aids are to be used.

Just as with other instructional aids or general information sources, students could independently avail themselves of the materials in libraries, books, magazines, on TV, on websites and so on. None of those -- however useful -- exactly match the courses at schools.

Education-Quik materials can be made part of this or that regular classroom course, or made a required preview. Or can just be recommended for additional study, summer study, remedial study, or the like.

DROPOUTS AND RETURNING ADULTS, ALSO EDUCATION
OUTSIDE OUR BORDERS OF CHILDREN AND ADULTS

Dropouts for any reasons -- boredom, to support families, unfortunate mistakes and choices of what to do -- can reorient and catch up more easily by using the Education-Quik easy to grasp, exciting materials along with related school teaching or outside tutoring.

Adults who want to return for additional schooling can more easily select courses and advance using the Education-Quik materials.

Testing? Most makeup, GED, remedial, outside tutoring, catch-up, second chance, etc., systems have ties with public and accredited private institutions up through level 14, for accreditations or additional accreditations.

TUTORING

Education-Quik materials lend themselves ideally to tutoring, home schoooling and the like.

(SEPARATE TUTORING SCHOOL)

If a private tutoring school were much later to be set up around Education-Quik course materials as they developed, that school -- which could be franchised, and would likely employ some local teachers where possible without interfering with their regular hours at school -- would still want to tie in as closely as possible with local institutions for referrals, and for their additional testing and certification.

(SEPARATE FULL PRIVATE SCHOOL)

In time, as materials, faculty and all-around workability of the concepts developed, the tutoring could grow into full private schooling, which might obtain its own certification, possibly under existing charter schooling legislation.

.

BASIC ETHOS -- ASSISTANCE FOR ALL, NOT SEPARATION

The basic ethos of Education-Quik is to make learning easier and more accessible both for all inside all schooling systems, and for those outside of the systems wanting to get knowledge and also to qualify for certificates of completion from recognized institutions that will help them fit into the workplace, and into continuing education if that's their goal. By quick overviews in depth, people can more easily make course and career decisions.

The broadest possible access and use is the aim. Anything that separated the Education-Quik concepts from the widest availability and use by the public and schools, libraries, the web, and etc., would work against the basic ethos.

THIRD WORLD

Putting the materials into other languages can help in the massive task of bringing even billions of young people and adults worldwide into the modern world and connectivity. Many are aiding connectivity with computers and internet use for villages and families. Urban areas are already at that stage. Education-Quik materials can help with teaching in both rural and urban areas.

LEARNING LEVELS

Education-Quik materials would have to be in learning levels, but don't have to be exactly tailored to the widely-varying school grades. Depending on the subject, there might be six or seven capsules in a given course between the start of middle school (6) and the end of the first two years of Junior College (14).

All such materials should show "span" (where the subject matter fits into past and future), and relevancy (how the knowledge relates directly or in an adjunct manner to possible career fields, paychecks and the community in general). Information today must be useful.

WHO CAN STAND BEHIND CREATION, DISTRIBUTION, FAMILIARIZATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF EDUCATION-QUIK MATERIALS?

The Gates Foundation would be perfect for this. The people there are already well into worldwide better education programs, understand the need and the ethos.

The ethos has to come first here, bottom line second.

But it can be a very solid business once it gets going.

I think it should be "for profit" in the sense of "for success of the broadest sense of the concept." This attracts the keenest minds.

(c) 2007 Karl Roebling
All rights reserved