Drill and Kill

Some people say drill and practice is really "drill and kill." What can teachers do to make
sure this kind of use doesn't happen and drill and practice can serve a useful function?

I think the reason drill and practice becomes drill and kill in some classes is the execution. Drill and practice comes after a concept has been taught that a teacher wants the student to have what is mentioned in Roblyer in chapter 3 to be automaticity. Information that is automatic will allow students to move to higher skill problems with ease. Many times, drill and practice is simply a timed worksheet or a basic computer program that is not interactive and is the same every day. Key to using any type of drill and practice will be to check on students and see if they are struggling in a specific area. The need to go back and refresh or - a concept may exist. Additional drill without checking where the students are is a frustration. Additional, continuous drill for a student who has conquered a concept is painful. The process should not be about the ease for the instructor, but how appropriate is the modality for the individual student.

The ideal option proposed in the book is to use computer programs for drill. The computer is an immediate feedback to whether the question has been answered completely as opposed to paper drill where the student may not know for days if their work was correct. I loved the statement "Practice does not make perfect, practice makes permanent". It is imperative to make sure the concepts are learned and drilled correctly.

Distance Education Debate

Some educators feel that distance technologies will greatly improve education; some feel
education will suffer if they are overused. What are factors you can cite in support of each of these positions?

Distance education is a boon for the many people who are not traditional students. The awesomeness of distance education is that, for many, it is their opportunity to continue education without the boundaries of time and location. They can make the class work around the life they already lead. The reality of being able to participate in a conference or a class without the necessity of travel or relocation is phenomenal. This technology has enabled the rapid sharing of ideas for executives by allowing more frequent, short updates whether on legislation or industry standards. Students benenfit by having access to classes or forums that may not be available in their local area as well as if they are wanting to sample or get an introduction to a program without the commttment of time and travel.

There are definite downsides to distance education. The most important would be the ability to share in the dynamics of being in a classroom together and having the ability to feed ideas off of each other. Speaking from a personal perspective, this is the most interesting part of a class. The lecture can be listened to on an ipod, laptop, tv, etc. The dynamics of sharing ideas with a peer group of learners cannot be replaced. Additionally, the ability to inquire for additional information, to stay after class to continue a discussion cannot be disrespected.

The overuse of distance education is very possible with the promotion of technology and cost effectiveness. the greatest analogy of I can think of relates to the company 3M. 3M felt the idea of their employees being able to have discussions outside of strict work environment was so important, they designed their office buidling around this theory. There are no long, straight hallways at 3M. Instead, the company purposely made hallways with pocket spaces for conversations. They found that some of the greatest ideas of their company came from their own employees having the ability to have side conversations with one another throughout the day for brief intervals. Different departments found out what each other was doing, and quite often found a way to share this information for new research and development.

Education works this way as well - we need time and space to share ideas -and being perhaps old fashioned- being face to face is the greatest way to communicate.

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and students alike for twenty plus years. I am of the camp that not all education has to be formal classroom education. The teleconference has, for years, supported executives and students alike who were inneed of being updated or perhaps having participated in