mattquinn

Definitely avoid Joomla if you can. I've been maintaining a Joomla site since 2009, and I can't update any of the core components because it would break too many plugins for which there are no newer, compatible versions.

I'm building a replacement for that site right now using Rails. If that's not an option, go with Wordpress.

As if this speaks for all start-ups. Look, if you don't value time away from business or if you ascribe significant meaning to the results of an A/B test, you should sit down and think very hard about the world around you.

With regard to this specific article: this guy needs to realize that there's many, many fascinating aspects of life outside of the data entry business.

I've used Knockout for two applications and it's great; MVVM is definitely more relevant for JS web applications than MVC in many, tho not all, cases.

No dude, think about what you're saying. The idea you've presented isn't a solution at all. Simply stating your desire to get rid of TV commercials without explaining how to do it is not a solution.

"Now, I’m going to throw something out there that might seem kind of crazy."

You managed to write a blog post that hypes up your proposed solution to "hacking" TV...then don't even have a solution? You suggested that we get rid of commercials. That's not a solution, that's an idea everyone's had at some point.

Advertising is a multi-billion dollar industry and is an inherent facet of capitalism that can't just be "hacked" out of TV, whatever that means.

The publication date was August 4, 1993. Not to say it's irrelevant, but alot has changed since then.

We are all going to disagree about how much tech is too much in education. On the other hand, very few disagree that tech has no place in hospitals, the enterprise, supply chain management, etc. That alone illustrates to me how ridiculous it is to treat education as a space needing a "reset."

> "He suggested that teachers design what interactions take place..."

This is exactly my point. Those who work with software/tech/etc often trivialize the relationship between software and people who hold completely different societal roles. No matter how intuitive you make an application, no matter how effective you seem to think your application enhances learning, there will always be a vast number of people (in this case, teachers) who have not the time, nor the desire, to "design" a set of "interactions" for their student.

Are there effective teaching aids available for tablets? Yes. Does that translate to a need for technology-guided learning in more aspects of education? Absolutely not.

The OP talks about "a complete reset on education with technology at its core." I stand by my point; this is a dangerous idea. And you don't have to believe me, most any teacher will tell you this is a bad idea. Teacher flexibility and intuition is (usually) right; software isn't going to magically determine a child's academic strengths and weaknesses.

Education is not some cookie-cutter problem you can fix with a well-designed app.

I have a lot of issues with what you just posted. Perhaps the biggest is enforcing a division between "best teachers" and "run-of-the-mill teachers" into a corporate project management of sorts. I'm not sure where you work, but just imagine if someone deemed you a "run-of-the-mill" employee and relegated you to watching people interact with tablets all day.

Some areas of life require a delicate moderation of technology, and education is one of them. Anyone who drools over education as a "start-up opportunity" likely hasn't done their research.

When you say "IT in higher ed", are you referring to personal experience? That's a pretty specific domain, just wanted to know if you have any specific anecdotes.

Actually, what I'm working on involves both front-end and back-end. I've got a UI that trades data back and forth with a web service endpoint called Integration Broker within PeopleSoft. I'm focused on enrollment right now, and currently I've got a system that allows me to enroll in classes using the new UI on a live PeopleSoft install - all without touching/modifying the business logic in the delivered vanilla PeopleSoft implementation.

Re. the PeopleSoft copy - Oracle provides all of their software (and master license codes) for download for evaluation purposes through a portal called eDelivery. I had to read a few hundred pages of documentation, but after a month I was able to get all the components to talk together. I'm trying to convince Oracle to give me a non-support license so I can cover myself legally, but I'm getting the silent treatment since it's just me and I don't have the budget of a CTO lol.

Seconded. The university I'm attending uses PeopleSoft (acquired by Oracle) as their ERP system, and it's horrendous. Not a week goes by where I don't hear students and faculty members openly complain about it.

I've got a live PeopleSoft installation running on a server in my apartment that I'm outfitting with code to do exactly what you mentioned - split out the back-end from the front-end. So far it's going brilliantly - for some sadistic reason, I enjoy trying to reduce the complexities of these applications.

Then how in the world do you ever expect to launch it in the first place? This kind of attitude always perplexes me - if your solution to a problem is excellent, there will be little incentive for others to copy it.