The Assent of Driverless Vehicles on Mail & Package Delivery

The Assent of Driverless Vehicles on Mail & Package Delivery

I have been following closely the development of driverless vehicles. This has the potential for significant impact on delivery services. Recently, driverless trucks successfully made long-distance trips in the United States; a driver was present in case intervention became needed. This system could be used for large deliveries to business or manufacturing establishments.

Amazon, an online retailer, has grown so significantly over the recent past that established businesses, like Sears, are threatened with bankruptcy. Package delivery services like UPS have been unusually busy recently. Delivery businesses will seek ways to make their service more efficient and reliable. The driverless UPS or FedEx truck is on the horizon. Similarly, the US Postal Service may adopt driverless vehicles.

The use of driverless trucks for mail and package delivery would require some procedural and utility modifications. Leaving deliveries at the front door would be problematic for robots to handle. Also, delivery would be slowed down when robots have to climb stairs. A more practical and less expensive system would be to have special boxes near the curb where packages and mail could be quickly inserted. Packages beyond the size of the container would have to be delivered separately. The curbside container would remain locked when closed. The delivery truck would contain a transponder that would unlock any container keylessly and automatically. A robotic device would insert the delivery and close the container. The recipient of the mail or package would be alerted wirelessly and have a key to unlock the container.

Driverless trucks would result in significant savings and more efficient delivery 24/7. Unfortunately, the loss of jobs would be significant; affecting those who probably have no more than a high school education. I believe this will become a growing problem in the future as the application of automation with robots increases. The likelihood of a Universal Basic Income (UBS) will grow. The government will have to impose a tax on businesses proportional to the degree that automation has replaced workers. Additionally, government-sponsored, free recreational and educational activities will need to be offered to counter the effects of an idle population.

Why I Disagree With the Article, "5 Risks Posed by the Increasing Use of Technology in Schools"

Why I Disagree With the Article, "5 Risks Posed by the Increasing Use of Technology in Schools"

As a retired K-12 educator, I totally disagree with this article (5 Risks Posed by the Increasing Use of Technology in Schools) that points out only the negatives in ed tech while ignoring all of the positives. For example, Risk 1 cites student privacy concerns. Yes, it is a concern when someone is illegally trying to get info about a particular student, but not a problem when attempting to discern trends about an entire student population. Risk 2, Personalized Learning, may be a worthy alternative for motivated students who want to learn beyond what is offered in the classroom, or for students that are turned off by classroom lectures. Risk 3, Tech Assessment provides a more efficient and less expensive way of taking the pulse of a school's academic progress. Do we not want feedback that is delivered in a timely manner? Risk 4 & 5, yes there will always be those looking to make a profit in education, including those using deceptive practices; but does this mean that every charter school or tech business should be suspect?
My greatest concern is the number of educators who are anti-tech that seek to impede this inevitable trend, often because they find technology threatening to their intellect or fear it can replace them.

Response to Parental Complaints Regarding Adoption of Chromebooks in Cheshire, CT Public Schools

October 28, 2017

Recently, NBC-CT posted an online article concerning some parents’ objections to the distribution of Chromebooks to all students in one of their elementary schools. Concerns included danger to student privacy, using technology to replace teachers and access to inappropriate sites. The district administration has made attempts to allay these fears, but some parents remain unconvinced.

I think the district administrators should hold parent meetings to demonstrate how the educational apps maintain student privacy and how students are prevented from accessing inappropriate sites. Assuring parents that the technology program will not be used to replace teachers is more problematical.

Online instruction can be used as a replacement or supplement to in-class teaching. My guess is that it will first appear at the high school level when some students want to take a course not being offered or when an insufficient enrollment does not warrant another teacher. Also, some advanced placement (AP) courses may be provided online. Finally, some instruction may be made available to supplement in-class courses.

Hopefully, Cheshire’s technology program will continue unabated. Chromebooks can be a significant instructional tool to facilitate learning, especially when provided to all students for use at school and at home; as is the case in Cheshire.

Medical Records Need to be Stored in the Cloud

Ronald L. Abate

Doctors need to know your medical history before providing treatment. This is necessary in order to avoid procedures or drugs that may be harmful for certain patients. Also, to avoid needless duplication like trying to formulate a diagnosis of an already known condition. Often, the individual may not know much of their own medical history or may be too ill, even unconscious, to provide information. For example, a patient may have had an adverse reaction to a previously administered medication.

Placing ones medical information in the cloud, including dental records, has the potential to provide their medical history instantly to any location in the world at any time. The cloud is the internet where computer applications and stored data are located. All that is needed to retrieve this data is a computer, an internet connection, and a password. The latter is required so only you and your doctor have access to your history. Ideally, the need for passwords can be eliminated through the use of the patient’s physical attributes such as finger prints or a facial scan. This would be required where accident victims are too seriously injured or even unconscious.

Unfortunately, change occurs slowly. The medical establishment should act soon to use the cloud as the place to store medical records. This has the potential to streamline the diagnostic and treatment process. Many lives can be saved.

Cost Saving Technology Recommendations for K-12 Schools

Cost Saving Technology Recommendations for K-12 Schools
Ronald L. Abate
January 2017

K-12 school districts should take advantage of the cost savings that current technology can provide. The following recommendations increase the probability of facilitating instruction while reducing the cost of K-12 education:

1. Provide low cost Chromebooks for all students for use at school and at home. Use of these online (internet based) devices will open avenues to the following efficiencies and economies:
Expensive textbooks can be replaced with Open Educational Resources (OER) which can provide free, online course content in all subjects. No more textbooks to carry.
Reduce the need for libraries as all information is attainable from the internet at any time from any place.
Many student assignments can be completed online reducing the need for paper.
Advanced Placement (AP) courses may be taken online, rather than in a physical classroom. Many of these courses are free with some being offered by colleges.
Provide online instruction to homebound students.
Remove the need for science labs by providing online, virtual experiments.
Institute personalized learning where instruction is provided according to the needs of each student.

2. Replace local school networks with cloud (internet) computing resources. Local networks are expensive to implement and maintain.

3. Use the Internet of Things (IoT) to monitor and control energy usage in all school buildings. Lighting and heating will be adjusted automatically according to whether a room is occupied. IoT along with LED bulbs has reduced electricity usage by 84 percent in Cheshire, CT Public Schools. A savings of about $390,000.

4. Provide for online professional development for teachers. Minimize professional development onsite.

5. Minimize use of landline telephones; increase use of VOIP (internet based) telephones. (Note: All Chromebook laptops provide free VOIP phone service.)

Robots Threaten Job Security

President-elect Donald Trump sees globalization as the main threat to job loss in the U.S. Much of our manufacturing has moved offshore. The attraction of low cost labor and lower taxes has encouraged American companies to move their manufacturing to places like China and Mexico.

Trump wants to reverse this trend principally by lowering corporate taxes and restricting imports. This may work for the short term, but there is a greater threat to job security that has already begun: the rise of automation spearheaded by robots.

The use of robotics to automate many industrial processes, services and transportation will reduce the need for human labor. Productivity rises as employment remains flat and ultimately declines. Companies are well motivated to see this trend grow; robots work tirelessly 24/7, are more efficient than humans, are not compensated and do not need fringe benefits.

Ronald L. Abate, Colchester
Note: This post appeared in the Hartford Courant on 11/25/16.

Otto, The New Driverless Truck

Here is another instance where technology replaces the need for human workers. Recently, a driverless truck, called Otto successively drove on the highways of Nevada. Robots and automation replacing human workers is a growing trend that will affect the entire employment spectrum. The impact will exceed that of the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. Our government must prepare for this transition soon if it is to avoid a national, social upheaval. Employers will welcome this trend as robots are not compensated, can work 24/7, and receive no fringe benefits. The result: a huge gain in productivity and a likely decline in the cost of goods and services.

Portland’s Chromebook Initiative a Smart Move

Portland’s Chromebook Initiative a Smart Move

Congratulations to the Portland School District for making the wise decision to purchase Chromebooks for their middle and high school students. Even more impressive is providing each student with a laptop for use during the school day. Hopefully, in time, students will be allowed to take them home where they can continue with school assignments. To some, this may seem extravagant and expensive. However, the program has the potential to do away with expensive textbooks, which can cost up to $100 each. Textbooks wear out, can get lost, and become outdated. Instructional resources provided via the internet to all Chromebooks are free to low cost and easily updated when needed. Chromebooks are long lasting, virus resistant, include all the apps (software) a student will ever need, have long battery life, and unlike more expensive tablets, have a keyboard. They are inexpensive with prices falling in the $150-$350 range.

Any technology program will require a well planned, professional development program where teachers are trained in the proper integration of technology into the school curriculum. Training should be ongoing and not a one day experience. Ideally, training should precede the distribution of laptops to students.

Technology Integration into K-12 Education, Now and in the Future

Ronald L. Abate
August 14, 2016

Computer usage in K-12 education has morphed into four areas: (1) as a tool for facilitating student work assignments; (2) internet research; (3) instruction; and (4) coding.

Problems and Solutions to Integration
Integration of computers into K-12 schools has moved slowly, at least when compared to business and industry. Desktop computers first appeared in schools, but more recently, mobile, lightweight laptops and tablets are becoming the norm. Ideally, all schools should aim to provide one device for every child to be used at school and at home.
A major obstacle has been the high cost of hardware. School districts were faced with expenditures of around $700 to over $1,000 per device. An added expense was networking a group of computers in labs, libraries, and even entire buildings. The need for personnel to maintain these networks added to the cost. The advent of cloud computing in the early 2000’s, (where programs, file storage, and communication are processed on remote servers via the internet), has resulted in a significant drop in the price of laptops and a lessening of the need for networks. Students will now have access to their district's resources in the cloud from any location at any time.
Chromebook laptops, a cloud computer, are an ideal choice for grades 3-12 with prices ranging from $150-$350 per unit, software included. Tablets, which do not have a qwerty keyboard should be reserved for K-2 students. Schools would require a robust connection to the internet to assure fast access.
The need for teacher preparation is another deterrent to integrating technology. Simply placing a large allotment of computers into a school without prior planning and teacher training is a recipe for failure. Training in technology should be ongoing and not a one day, district-wide offering.
Teacher preparation colleges can help by requiring future teachers to become technology proficient.
The role of school librarians will likely transition into computer and internet support specialists as the internet becomes the major source of information for education.

Recommended Practices
Keyboarding. Good typing skills will help facilitate written expression. Efficient keyboarding will serve students well while in school and for the remainder of their lives. Training should be provided early. My personal experience indicates that third graders can become proficient when instruction is provided at the rate of one-half hour per school day for the first half of the school year.
Computer Based Instruction. The demise of expensive, physical textbooks has already begun, being replaced by instructional, online resources, some of which are free. Schools may opt for a blended approach where teacher led activities are supplemented by online instruction done at home. The trend to online instruction will lower costs associated with textbook wear, lost books, and replacing out-dated books. Online resources provide a more direct, economical, and efficient route to making revisions as needed. Ideally, online offerings should be interactive where learning is measured continuously and students are always aware of their progress. Report cards may be eliminated as progress is measured continuously and parents have the option of checking their child’s achievement online at any time.
Online instruction should be personalized according to the needs of each student. This includes the use of online videos, simulations, digital game-based learning, the pacing of instruction, and any other venue that facilitates learning. The best programs will have the capability of assessing the most effective learning style of each student and make adjustments accordingly.
In October 2015 the U.S. Department of Education undertook a campaign to encourage school districts to replace traditional textbooks with free, quality resources (#GoOpen with Educational Resources.) This incentive has the potential for providing access to quality, instructional resources to all students regardless of location.
Strengthen School-Home Connection. Students can submit homework online. Teachers can grade assignments and return them to students via the internet. The need for paper will be reduced.
Virtual Reality. Students get the opportunity see distant places immersively without leaving the classroom. Also, personalized instruction, utilizing the power of artificial intelligence (AI), can be provided individually by a virtual teacher.
Standardized Testing. Testing can be administered online where scoring and analytics can be performed rapidly.
Monitoring and Program Evaluation. The large amount of data a district accumulates can be used to analyze the learning characteristics of a group of students (classroom, school building, or district) with the goal of evaluating and improving instruction.
Virtual Schooling. Students can opt to take a course online at anytime from any location. This can be useful where students wish to take a class not available in their school. One option is to take a massive open online course (MOOC) offered by providers like Khan Academy, Coursera, Edx, and Udacity. Motivated students may even complete course requirements and graduate earlier

Free College Courses for Prison Inmates Should Include Online Offerings

Efforts to provide Connecticut's prison inmates with college course enrollment opportunities through federally funded sources is commendable. Our state should seek the most efficient and financially responsible process for delivering courses to our prisons. Hopefully, this will include offering Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). This would involve instruction delivered to individual inmates on computers via the internet. The least expensive devices are laptops with keyboards using the Chrome Operating System (Chromebooks). They should be restricted to instructional use.
Course content may be developed by the various State community colleges and universities. All course offerings are reusable and open to revisions as needed. However, MOOCs should involve more than watching a professor lecturing on a screen; these should be interactive, include short videos, simulations, and even educational games. The idea is to make these offerings interesting and motivating. These MOOC courses may be offered to prisoners in other states. Exams may be provided online and/or in proctored classrooms.