from the now-what-could-go-wrong-with-that dept.
In 2011, the U.S. Department of Education delegated teacher recruitment to Microsoft (RFP, pdf). 'The decision to turn over TEACH to [Microsoft] Partners in Learning serves to expand the already outsized influence Gates and his fortune have on public education,' wrote the Washington Post at the time. So, 'what happens when a public institution in a democracy - the US Department of Education - outsources its goal of recruiting good teachers to a private industry?'
Well, in addition to Teach.org and redundant social media efforts on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube, the U.S. is now relying on 'Innovative Microsoft Advertising to Recruit the next Generation of Teachers'. From the press release:
'The Ad Council and TEACH have formed a unique outreach campaign with Microsoft's Advertising team in an effort to recruit the next generation of teachers who will drive innovation and redefine teaching in K-12 classrooms. Microsoft donated over 125 million impressions across Xbox 360, Windows 8, and MSN in order to encourage consumers to rediscover teaching through interactive ad units. This media effort is an extension of the Ad Council and TEACH's public service advertising (PSA) campaign, Make More...Throughout March, consumers were able to engage with TEACH "NUads on Xbox", via gesture, voice or controller on their Xbox 360 consoles...Most recently, Microsoft leveraged their Windows 8 platform to provide a unique experience to consumers, enabling them to navigate through a series of questions to help "discover their true passion," along with the opportunity to play challenging mind and word games, such as a word scramble and tangrams.'
Check out the demo of the Windows 8 platform experience [YouTube], in which a person is advised 'You'd Make a Great Science & Tech Teacher,' on the basis of a 'Personality Quiz' consisting of five dragged-and-dropped photos. (Apple and BSD/Linux users need not to apply..?)
(Score: 2) by BsAtHome on Monday April 28 2014, @07:13PM
Soon there will be the School of M$, the iSchool, the School of Penguin and the Devil School. None are interested in any of the other's teachings. A war is acoming, the first and last war of technological blindness.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by VLM on Monday April 28 2014, @07:17PM
There's no shortage. Its just like tech. There's a shortage of top 1% grads willing to work for minimum wage under horrible management in awful locations with no hope of advancement. Everything else, they got tons of unemployed. We're already graduating more that there are openings, so whats the point of graduating even more unemployable grads?
I checked the PDF to see where there's a supposed shortage in my state, they don't list districts or counties, just statewide job titles, and they're all varieties of special ed not tech. Everyone smart in STEM's figured out STEM might be dead but STEM education will be hot for awhile longer, so they're on that gravy train, where teaching 4th graders how to use Excel 97 will obviously guarantee them jobs decades later.
One problem they run into is the staff to teacher ratio is now approaching 1:1 so if you "fix" the problem and hire more teachers, that's great, but to keep the ratio 1:1 they now need an assistant vice chairwoman of diversity studies or whatever, and where is she supposed to come from?
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Monday April 28 2014, @07:31PM
I'd happily go into teaching if it were lucrative and didn't require an additional four year degree.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 3, Informative) by Angry Jesus on Monday April 28 2014, @10:55PM
> I'd happily go into teaching if it were lucrative and didn't require an additional four year degree.
It doesn't. At most it requires an additional 2-year degree, a masters in education. But it is very common for people with regular 4-year degrees to simply get a teaching certificate which is mostly just passing a test.
(Score: 2, Informative) by SunTzuWarmaster on Monday April 28 2014, @11:48PM
This. Essentially, if you have a BS, they will take you. Hell, they'll even forgive some loans and give you an MS (http://www.teachforamerica.org/) while paying you.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Tuesday April 29 2014, @02:12AM
The awful insight: "There's a shortage of top 1% grads willing to work for minimum wage under horrible management in awful locations with no hope of advancement."
Bug present, fix or suffer ;-)
Oh and if you are male then add the constant threat of sexual accusations.
Business proposition - FAIL.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Monday April 28 2014, @07:21PM
And let's make sure to hire only people who know Windows only, even if they are terrible teachers.
Stupid, stupid, stupid USA.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Monday April 28 2014, @08:08PM
I have a bad feeling about this. Remember when everyone who was not able to keep a job was a MSCE? I can only imagine how this will work when it is a MSCT!!
And I really think it is time to tell college drop-outs that they really have no business making education policy. Revenge is best pursued by improving education, not be destroying it through privatization.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Tuesday April 29 2014, @02:16AM
Many see MSCE as equalient to certified idiot but are they really that bad at keeping a job? and why?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 28 2014, @09:04PM
If the government is outsourcing advertising, what is their criteria for success, i.e. what quantitative goals must MS meet to get paid? There must be clear, measurable objectives to judge the success of this campaign. Or is the government just giving MS taxpayer money with no accountability to meet goals?
(Score: 1) by Horse With Stripes on Monday April 28 2014, @09:24PM
Their criteria for success?
#1 - If the project fails we have a big name scapegoat.
#2 - If the project succeeds, well, we picked Microsoft.
Either way they aren't to blame, which is the ultimate agenda of any government project (just above going over budget and pinning failure on the opposition).
(Score: 1) by MajorTom on Monday April 28 2014, @10:51PM
Any advertising on my PC is an interruption.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Tuesday April 29 2014, @02:18AM
Any efficient counter techniques to kill the advertisements in that computer environment ?
(Score: 2, Informative) by MajorTom on Tuesday April 29 2014, @04:01AM
I found one article on how to modify program files to stop the ads in the apps but mods must be made to each program that displays the ads. Someone may write a program to do this automatically but it's likely MS will make it more difficult if it get too easy to block them.
Here is the article:o u-could-remove-ads-from-windows-8-apps-and-even-un lock-paid-apps-for-free-0140483/ [wonderhowto.com]
http://operating-systems.wonderhowto.com/how-to/y
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Tuesday April 29 2014, @05:34AM
Best alternative is of course to ditch Microsoft completely. Other than that perhaps one can block the app from contacting the adserver?