education

  • March 14, 2023

    ChatGPT is Exposing Our Broken Education System

    I was at a talk about generative AI over the weekend, and someone asked about what it meant for students and homework assignments.

    The speaker said something I can’t stop thinking about: that if ChatGPT can regurgitate information as well as a student, and the teacher has no idea, what’s really the problem?

    Something I’m trying to teach my children, even at their young ages, is critical thinking. I don’t want them to memorize something. I want them to think about a problem, analyze it, and come to a solution.

    I want them to question rules that don’t make sense. And I want them to force people in authority positions to explain themselves.

    Our education system in the United States doesn’t teach those skills, and the fear of what ChatGPT means for homework grossly exposes that.

    Who cares if ChatGPT can write a paper about the Battle of Gettysburg at a 5th grade level?

    If my kid successfully leverages tools like ChatGPT to do their homework and save them time, they’ve gained a much more useful skill than memorizing the Battle of Gettysburg was a major turning point in the American Civil War, lasting from July 1 to July 3, 1863, with the Union Army defeating the Confederate Army led by General Robert E. Lee1.

    We’re still in a culture where students are taught to obey arbitrary rules, learn enough to pass standardized tests, and then promptly forget what they’ve memorized.

    And it’s so very broken. It’s why 98% of 5 year olds are considered “genius level creative,” and by age 15, that number is down to 12%.

    The good teachers will celebrate generative AI. They’ll teach their students how to leverage it to do proper research in a fraction of the time.

    1. I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right. ?

  • December 10, 2021

    Announcing WP Learning Paths

    The WordPress ecosystem has seen big changes over the last couple of years. The acquisitions seem to be coming fortnightly, full site editing is rapidly evolving, and new areas of expertise, from site builder to DevRel are taking shape.

    It’s a lot to think about!

  • March 13, 2020

    Use Podcasting To Release Your Learning Material

    Last night I gave what will probably be my last in-person talk for a while. Between COVID-19, social distancing, and my son being born in July, I won’t be doing much (if any) traveling for the rest of 2020. I’ll probably record and release the talk I gave to the National English Honors Society of my alma mater, Burke Catholic High School.

    But this got me thinking about all of the conferences, meetups, and classes being cancelled. Lots of great content with no one to hear it…at least not in-person. Thankfully It’s easier than ever to publish your message. And I think podcasting is a fantastic avenue to do it.

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  • February 5, 2018

    I’m Doubling Down on Patreon

    The first time I learned how to burn a CD was mind-blowing. It was 1999 and YouTube didn’t exist. Most of the web was brochure sites with marquees and hit counters, so there wasn’t a great place for learning how to do

    literally anything

    . Instead, my cousin came over and showed me. He brought a blank CD, opened software on my computer, dragged the songs I wanted into this window and clicked, “Burn.” A few minutes later, BOOM. I had my very own mix CD. What jumped out at me the most was how easy it was when someone was there to show me the way. I felt

    accomplished

    . That experience did 2 things for me. It allowed me to have a very successful mix CD business in high school, and it made me realized I just needed to try things in order to learn them. I felt

    empowered

    by the fact that someone showed me the way.

    I want you to feel empowered too.

    That’s why I

    started on Patreon

    .

    Why Donate?

    I love being an educator

    . Because of that, I put out a bunch of free content. My weekly podcast, YouTube videos, blog posts, and eBooks to name a few. I’d love to do a lot more of that. I’d actually love to focus on the full time! I’m lucky enough to work for myself. I support my family with sponsorships, online courses, and freelance work. With your support, I can switch focus away from freelance work, to creating more great content. I want to make better resource for learners and educators, spend more time researching interesting topics, and tell more great stories.

    Back Up! How does Patreon Work?

    Great question!

    Patreon

    allows people like you to support content creators like me by making monthly pledges, or donations. Usually, there will be multiple pledge levels, and rewards for each level. You can set spending limits and stop at any time. Basically, you get to empower and support content creators directly.

    Is Donating for You?

    I have a confession. Asking for donations has never come easy for me. But I’m also really passionate about teaching, and Patreon is a great way to get the freedom to do that more. For just $1/month, you can get access to not only incredible content, but more access to me. $12/year is like one month of Netflix! There’s a big

    but

    though. You should only donate if you find value in what I’m doing. There’s lots of great content out there, and lots of people vying for your hard-earned money. I only want you to donate if you dig what I’m doing. Rest assured, my blog, podcast, and YouTube channel will continue to have quality free content. Donating (and reaching my goals) just means more.

    Rewards & Goals

    Speaking of…if you do decide to donate, you’re in for a treat! I want you to

    feel

    the value you’re adding. I think the best way for you to do that through great rewards at all levels.

    Rewards

    • $1/Month: Access to My Discord Server, where you, me, and all the other patrons can chat about what we’re working on. You’ll also get access to live streams of me working on stuff, Q&A forums, and the suggestion box, where you can request tutorials, videos, and podcast guests.
    • $5/Month: Everything in the previous reward level, plus ad-free episodes of How I Built It, early. You will also get bonus episodes, and access to a private discord channel where you can ask upcoming guests your own questions.
    • $10/Month: Everything in the previous reward levels, plus a transcript ebook for each Season (starting in Season 4), priority requests for tutorials, and a Build Something T-Shirt after your 3rd pledge.
    • $50/Month: Everything in the previous levels, plus access to a white labeled video repository. This will have some great tutorial videos without my logos, free for you to use. You will also get 2 consultation calls per year, starting after your 6th pledge.
    • $100/Month: Everything above, plus monthly calls with me starting after the 2nd pledge.

    Goals

    • $200/month: When I hit $200/month, I’ll do a monthly giveaway of plugins, swag, Amazon gift cards, and more to a random Patron.
    • $1,500/month: At $1500/month, I’ll do a mini-series (4 episodes over the course of 8 weeks) that focuses in on how something was built. When possible, I’ll pull from the suggestion box!
    • $3,000/ month: At the $3000/month I’m going to put on the Build Something Summit. It will be an online conference that’s free for backers at $10 and up (with discounts for other levels), and it will be 6 hours of sessions that take an idea from concept to launch and support.
    • $5,000/month: At $5000/month, I will build out 2-3 projects per year and record (live stream?!) the process from inception to launch. I will share notes, code, and videos on the entire process so you can see How I Built It.
    • $8,000/month: A How I Built It Book! I’ve been thinking about this one for a while. I will write a book about my experience with the podcast, and highlights from all of the released episodes. The book will be printed, and sent to anyone at the $10+/month level.
    • $10,000/month: I will put on the Build Something Conference. This will be a live, in-person conference where backers can come meet each other, learn from great speakers, and even work on things they’re building! It will be free for anyone who’s pledged at least $119 and discounted for all other Patrons.

    Thank You!

    I wouldn’t be able to do this at all without the incredible support I’ve gotten so far from family and friends, guests, sponsors, and of-course, you!

    Pledge just $1 Today!

  • June 3, 2014

    How Do I Learn Web Development?

    A couple of years ago, I was on the How to Hold a Pencil podcast (episode here) and we discussed a number of things, including the steps I took to learn web development (over 14 years ago…whoa). I’m often asked, as I was on the show, what I recommend for people starting today. Here’s my answer for 2018.

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  • May 13, 2014

    4.4K People per Month Google, “How do I Google something,” and that’s OK

    I came across the above graphic today thanks to this Google Plus post and my knee jerk reaction wasn’t, “Wow those people are dumb.” I think that’s a pretty big step for me because I’m trying to be more open minded and less judgmental. I teach college students, talk at conferences, and field a whole host of different questions every day. If I was constantly calling people dumb for not knowing what I know, I wouldn’t be very popular, and I’d be a horrible educator. Unfortunately, I think that’s the default mentality when it comes to something like this stat.

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