Parents might like lecture, homework swap

Public schools get more than their share of criticism, what with "common core" and other "innovations" raising the hackles of parents who prefer traditional subjects taught in traditional ways.

But we recently heard of an innovation that we think many parents will embrace with open arms, especially those with experience battling with kids to do their homework.

The teaching establishment may be another question, however.

Columbus Middle School is "flipping" some classes, assigning students to watch lecture videos at home and do their "home" work at school.

As explained by the Columbus Telegram, teachers make 10- to 15-minute videos explaining the latest lessons, which students then watch, using a downloaded app, taking notes and copying down problems that are explained to them.

In class, they do homework under the teacher's supervision. There, teachers can see who understood the lessons and who needs more help. Plus, at home, students can watch the lectures as many times as possible.

And, they have the chance to "digest" the information overnight, an important part of the learning process.

We can see another advantage, not listed in the story: Parents can watch the lectures along with their children, giving them refresher courses that would be a great help with any homework that does come up.

Of course, not every student has Internet access at home, although most do. If not, they can use the technology at school, although that would probably rob them of before- or after-school time, study hall or other non-classroom time.

More and more schools, like McCook, are providing laptops or tablets for all students, which should be capable of carrying downloaded video lectures whether or not home Internet is available.

"Flipping" classrooms is an innovative idea that takes advantage of technologies that have evolved since today's educators were in school -- think 16 mm films, filmstrips and Beta or VHS tapes vs. mp4 files and streaming video.

But there are contractual and political considerations. If students are watching recorded lectures, does it matter who made the recording?

Could the best lecturers provide recorded lessons for thousands of students statewide, while lesser-gifted teachers or even monitors take care of the classroom duties?

It will take a while the sort out which innovations are effective and worth adopting, and which ones are fads to be discarded as soon as the next one arrives. The final measure should be which delivery method is the most efficient and effective at delivering a good education to our students.