The Becker Blog

Once again, there is an article where some professor (or group of professors) laments that people won’t come to his(her) class if they have prior access to their notes.

Students profit from diligent note-taking Knetwit.com offers cash, gifts for students who submit lecture notes online, but some faculty members fume

If your concern that students won’t come if they already have notes is legitimate, IT MEANS YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG. Students SHOULD have access to your notes, slides, and any other resources you use. They should be coming to class because you ADD something. If you can’t add anything, then maybe you don’t deserve to be in the classroom.

Do you read your notes? Do you read your slides? I hereby invite you into the 21st century.

Do you really believe that the path to knowledge should go only through you? How arrogant is that?

Coming to class is typically (even with a merely average teacher)  the most efficient way to get the information one needs for that course. Trying to make up the difference by NOT coming to class and then “studying” on one’s own takes at least three times as long. Class = 1 hr VS self-study = >= 3hr. If, on the other hand, as an instructor, all you do is read your notes, shame on you.

The scary part is that HALF of everything is below average – including teachers and professors.

Maybe there should be student tuition options….. – Pay 25% more tuition to get the Premium Education – get taught only by our GOOD instructors! (not those economy instructors)

There’s a big todo about EA’s DRM – and rightly so. It’s  no wonder Spore is being pirated at amazing rates. You know – many people would be willing to pay for it (and NOT try to steal it) if EA would only permit you to actually own what you bought.

The Penny Arcade provides a lovely analogy:

“Imagine, though, an unsuspecting bibliophile returning home with their copy of The True-Born Englishman
only to discover that once they’ve read it, the pages turn to ash. Or maybe they can read it and let a couple of friends borrow it, but that’s it. No more reads, thank you very much. What if they find that there is someone lurking outside their library window, watching them, making sure no one else catches a glance of page 32? Or, god forbid, they try to go and sell the book back?”

Be reasonable and you’ll find thefts go down.

Really, Will, I know you’re a reasonable man, can’t you do anything about this?