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October 2, 2011
What technologies (other than e-casebooks) can or will transform legal education?
The question in the title of this post is prompted by this notable commentary discussing some new tech ideas in the field of K-12 education. The piece by Jonathan Alter is headlined "Robo-Truant Tech And Other Apps To Fix Education," and here is a snippet:
The education reform movement is at an important juncture. It will either peter out in platitudes or advance based on a new consensus. At this week's Education Nation conference in New York City, I came away with some hope for the latter. My cautious optimism is rooted in two Ts -- technology and transparency....
Even if they cordially despise each other, reformers and traditionalists will now have to work together to implement the new accountability laws enacted in the past few years in about a dozen states. One way to do so is by embracing smart new technology.
For years, faddish tech fixes like computers in the classroom have yielded few results. But that could be changing. One of the most intriguing parts of Education Nation was the Innovation Challenge, a contest with shades of Donald Trump's show, "The Apprentice." Three young innovators presented their ideas on stage to a panel of judges moderated by Tom Brokaw:
Classdojo.com uses a competitive point system (always popular with students) to enable teachers to better handle the behavioral problems that so often impede learning. The idea is to build character by rewarding teams of students who work together to stay on task and avoid disruptions. Technology can't substitute for a teacher's class-management skills. But with as much as half of class time consumed by dealing with disruptive kids, it can help....
Classdojo won the $75,000 prize. Even if this and other 2011 innovations flop, we're edging closer to the era when technology finally changes what is essentially a 19th-century system of education. In science, paradigm shifts follow technological breakthroughs. Education won't be any different.
Regular readers know I have been saying for quite some time that e-readers will eventually transform the traditional casebook model for legal education, and the popularity of the iPad and the forthcoming Kindle Fire reinforce my views on this front. But I am wondering, and truly hoping, that there will be other technological innovation and/or breakthroughs that further revamp legal education for the 21st century. Anyone bold enough to make predictions about what those innovations might be?
Some related prior posts:
- Could the iPad help transform law school and even lawyering?
- An iPad in a Law School Class -- A Skeptical View
- How an iPad (or an even better e-tablet) could transform legal education
- Incorporating Technology & University Responses
- How could/should Apple (or other tech companies) partner with a law school to foster e-casebooks?
- Supreme Court Justices are now doing work on iPads and Kindles, when will law students?
- “I think [the iPad] could very well be the biggest thing to hit school technology since the overhead projector.”
Posted by DAB
October 2, 2011 in Electronic Education, Teaching Resources, Technology -- in general, Technology -- in the classroom | Permalink
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Practice automation software like A2J-Author (see www.a2jauthor.org). Also like HotDocs, KIIAC/Neota, RapiDocs and others. These allow the attorney to automate his/her own practice or the firm's client-facing website. Lawyers must learn to understand automated process as a means of efficiency.
Posted by: John Mayer | Oct 2, 2011 3:18:27 PM
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