by Rick Lakin
Initially, the biggest challenges were hardware, software and knowledge systems. By 2023, The single-user system was ready for field testing in a controlled university setting for young learners. Within two years, the multi-user system was ready for installation in a school. By 2027, steveLearn was being marketed to schools internationally. A single trained and certificated teacher was able to guide the learning for sixty students, and a homeschool version was on the drawing boards.
When HumanAI went public in 2028 with a valuation of forty billion dollars, Dr. Warner's stake had grown to five percent. With the commercial success of the product assured and the associated personal wealth obtained, Dr. Alexandra Warner left HumanAI to return to her love of children and teaching. So began Warner Academy and Educational Research Center and the evolution of steveLearn.
By 2067, steve was a home appliance. It had limitless applications in learning, gaming, communications, and business. It allowed users to interact with virtual assistants, virtual friends to chat, and virtual tutors as well as social interaction with people throughout the world.
The Warner Academy
When Alexandra Warner explained the synergy between entertainment and education that would be developed and the promise to educate sons and daughters of industry employees as well as a diverse group of students from the surrounding communities, the Big Six studios quickly provided an on-going funding source for the venture. The first one hundred students showed up in the fall of 2031. By the time Sheila Gallagher entered first grade in 2034, there were four hundred fifty-three students at Warner Academy. There were two hundred fifty steveLearn systems in place.
Students experienced a balance of alone time in steveLearn and traditional group activities stressing physical and social interactions and of course an emphasis on the arts.
Warner Academy exemplified the educational revolution caused by steveLearn. Students of all abilities were performing at significantly advanced levels without respect to ethnicity or economic background.
By 2035, Moore's Law had justified the economic model of steveLearn in even the most economically impacted public schools. SteveLearn was finally recognized at the killer application for education, increasing teacher productivity, individualizing student instruction and satisfying demanding parents and school administrators but most importantly producing lifelong learners who understood the demands to be the best that they could be.
With the decreasing cost of the home installation of steveLearn, homeschooling reduced the impact of growth and rare real estate for schools. Additionally, the steveLearn system could be operated in the steveBiz environment at offices. Parents saw a significant reduction in daycare costs as companies saw the advantages of allowing families to work and learn together.
Gallagher Gaffers and Grips was a leader in this area. Sheila spent three days a week at Warner and two days either at home or the workplace with her parents. By the time Sheila entered the Harry Ford Academy of the Arts as the first freshman class, both education and work had become a family-centered activity, and the transitions were no longer as difficult from grade-school to college to work.
Sheila's daughter, Jennifer, would now be able to advance her academics using steveLearn as well.
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Acknowledgments
Brilliant is my first novel. As a publisher, I have delivered thirty-five books by eleven authors but writing a novel is a new world. I would like to thank those who helped to make my book as good as it can be despite my efforts to the contrary.
I learned much from experienced authors, first and foremost my mentor, marketing guru, and editor, Penn Wallace, who writes exciting thrillers as Pendleton C. Wallace. Caroline McCullagh, author of The Ivory Caribou, provided much encouraging criticism. Jim Bennett suggested an incredibly descriptive title. My Ohio contingent included Sheila Dobbie, who is writing Letters to Sallie, the Civil War Letters of A.C. McClure, my great-grandfather, and Kathy Rider, my diligent copy editor.
One can only hope to have a wonderful cover like the one that Renata Lechner produced for this book.
Thanks to my beta readers including Swati Hegde, Elo Quijada Tarwid, Ron Hidinger, Dennis Mauricio and others.
Special thanks to author Laurence Dahners, whose character Ell Donsaii inspired Jennifer and who contributed valuable time and expertise at a critical moment. And to Sarah Char and Glenn Ripps, who provided their Hollywood insight.
My USS Drum sea buddy, Kent Gunn got me into the publishing business with The Apes of Eden and inspired Jennifer. Kent is the answer to the question, “How can anyone have an IQ of 206?”
Finally, my greatest inspiration comes from my former students in Southwest High Video Productions and iCrew Digital Productions including John, Joel, Dante, Chris, Stacee, James, Brian, Brittni, Ayiiia, Rod, Katie, Meaghan, Anamaria, Marina, Lee, Jessica, Charlie, Tori, Ricky, Chris D., Robin, Liza, Brion, Darlene, and Francisco.
And my thanks and apologies to anyone I might have left out because of you know…CRS.
About Rick Lakin
Rick Lakin is the the publisher at iCrewDigitalPublishing.com, Bringing New Authors to a Digital World. iCrew has published 35 books by 11 authors.
Rick has been an optimist for almost two years and is the district webmaster as calso41.us.
He is the founder of iCrew Digital Productions, A Community of Young Media Professionals and a member of the 1000 Club of the National Association of Sports Public Address Announcers. Rick is an Advanced Communicator Silver in Toastmasters International and is a member of American Mensa. Rick works as a Sports Statistician for broadcast television and is a retired math teacher.
He is a retired math teacher who lives in Southern California but his roots are in Columbus, Ohio, home of The Ohio State University Buckeyes.