[Olpc-open] Using computers and the web to improve education

Sun Dec 2 03:00:50 EST 2007

When all their children can read well and do basic math, then nations can be
legitimately concerned with the potential which computers can provide
(though I'd skip the videos as a benefit and focus on ebooks, newspapers,
and journals). Before that the machines are merely gimmicks, and the notion
of a "digital divide" just a catchy phrase for another illusory instant fix
to a complex problem. Could there conceivably be software which would teach
reading and math more quickly than a teacher? Certainly. But since the human
mind is innately capable of inducting the grammatical structure of the
language of any country into which the child is born, I really don't believe
that the great effort which need be placed into creating such software is
necessary and it may well be too simplistic. Though adults might find the
programs enticing. Think I'll stop with my comments on this thread here.

Dec 2, 2007 2:13 AM, Charbax <charbax at charbax.com> wrote:

> Are you arguing that computers cannot be useful in school environments?
>
> I think it's been reasonably well documented during the past 15 years of
> the web, that computers do provide immense opportunities to the societies
> that embrace them. It's not just access to all information anytime,
> anywhere, access to all digitalised knowledge, all digitized books, films,
> audio.. I mean comon, I think it's quite obvious to anyone that there is a
> clear benefit of using computers in society and in education. We wouldn't be
> talking about the digital divide if there wasn't a clear benefit of having
> those digital technologies.
>
> As for integrating computers to the education curriculum, I think schools
> around the world, not only in developping countries, have totally ignored
> the latest 15 years of digital web tools. Most schools take very little use
> of the computer technologies, not because they are useless for education,
> but because established Teacher, School managment and national curriculums
> have simply not considered yet how to include the laptop and the web in the
> education process.
>
> The goal should be to provide better learning through personalised access
> to the worlds information, better use of the time that the students spend in
> schools, more meaningful collaboration among students and teachers, better
> integration of learning with situations in society so students see more
> meaning to the topics they are learning. Access to millions of hours of
> documentary videos, access to worldwide libraries, collaboration accross
> schools all over the world, collaboration among the worlds best educators,
> learning researchers to provide the absolute best personalised learning
> program for each student.
>
> On Dec 2, 2007 8:00 AM, tall897 <tall897 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > To repeatedly use the term "cheap shot," as you did, is not to argue
> > against my basic point: which is that there is no evidence that spending
> > huge sums on computers for school children has any positive effect on their
> > learning. If I remember correctly from a Washington Post article, I believe
> > that one Maryland superintendent of schools removed the computers from his
> > schools after concluding this. And who ever determined that school should be
> > "fun." Effectance motivation,the natural enjoyment that one gets while
> > expanding one's cognitive abilities, is innate and doesn't require a
> > computer to foster. And regarding the OLPC laptop's hoped for usefulness in
> > fostering collaboration among children: I'm more than a little dubious about
> > the current craze for group work rather than fostering and encouraging
> > individual achievement.
> >
> >
> > On Dec 2, 2007 1:17 AM, M. Edward (Ed) Borasky <znmeb at cesmail.net>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > tall897 wrote:
> > > > You make a good point (please keep us posted about your experience
> > > with
> > > > the OLPC laptop) but, as a clinical/child psychologist (Ph.D.), I've
> > > > still baffled as to why the assumption has gained traction, despite
> > > any
> > > > objective proof, that providing children with computer access will
> > > in
> > > > any way quicken their education.
> > >
> > > Well ... I'm not a clinical or any kind of psychologist, but I'm of
> > > two
> > > minds on issues like this:
> > >
> > > 1. The whole OLPC concept, at least my view of it, is more than
> > > "computer access". It is in fact electronic wireless collaborative
> > > learning. I don't have an actual hardware unit yet, and I've only
> > > spent
> > > a few days exploring the software via VMware emulation, but what I've
> > > seen so far looks to me like it will have the right mix of fun and
> > > challenge.
> > >
> > > As I noted in a previous post, my interest in the project and
> > > technology
> > > is primarily in hearing the kinds of music the children will make with
> > > these systems when they are deployed in, for want of a better term,
> > > "villages." For example, I can imagine a village in Indonesia, and the
> > >
> > > creative tension between the gamelan, a collection of children
> > > recording
> > > gamelan music, the capability of sound editing and mixing, and the
> > > music
> > > that will evolve from that conjunction. If one Bartok, Kodaly, or
> > > Vaughn
> > > Williams comes out of Indonesia or Africa as a result, the world will
> > > be
> > > a richer place in my humble opinion.
> > >
> > > 2. My other mind, however, is concerned that this will turn out to be
> > > about "teaching kids to program, so they can grow up to work in IT." I
> > >
> > > remember the "New Math", Logo, the TI 99/4 and other "educational
> > > revolutions" that somehow failed to make things any better. Thankfully
> > > they didn't make things any worse, either.
> > >
> > >  > Far better that parents should read to
> > > > their children beginning when they are two years old and, later,
> > > that
> > > > they do real research from books (which can be e-books) rather than
> > > > learn how to produce power point abominations.
> > >
> > > I think that's a cheap shot. Only some of these children are going to
> > > become scientists, only some of them are going to become musicians,
> > > only
> > > some of them are going to become poets, painters, bricklayers,
> > > doctors,
> > > clinical psychologists, journalists, software engineers, athletes,
> > > etc.
> > > Remember, the intended audience for these machines is elementary
> > > school
> > > -- middle school ages.
> > >
> > > > Jean Piaget, whose basic
> > > > concept, that children think differently than adults, was described
> > > by
> > > > Albert Einstein as being "so simple that only a genius could have
> > > > thought of it," once wrote that whenever you describe to an American
> > > the
> > > > natural development of the mind their instinctive question is, "How
> > > can
> > > > we speed up the process?"
> > >
> > > Again, I think that's a cheap shot. Children develop at different
> > > rates
> > > -- I was reading at a third grade level when I was five and by the
> > > time
> > > I was 19, I had an AB in mathematics and was earning a living
> > > programming computers. I don't think anybody did anything to "speed up
> > > the process". In fact, there are many times when I wish it had been
> > > slower.
> > >
> > > > Which is not to say that the OLPC laptop may
> > > > not be valuable in providing books as an e-reader. But apart from
> > > this
> > > > it will, I fear, have no greater impact on improving education than
> > > did
> > > > the providing of slide projectors to American teachers in the 1950s,
> > > > this being that era's wonder gadget. Though the OLPC is an
> > > impressive
> > > > gadget which I may buy in its likely soon-to-come second edition.
> > >
> > > Well ... I did take a long look at the specifications before I decided
> > > to give and get one. 256 MB of RAM and 1 GB of flash disk are quite
> > > constraining, especially since they are soldered onto the motherboard
> > > --
> > > it does not look like you can upgrade them. But the XO is a *client*
> > > --
> > > the "system" includes a server component.
> > >
> > > In summary, I don't think we can predict how this is going to affect
> > > the
> > > learning processes of the children who get them. But it's certainly
> > > captured my attention and imagination, and I'm finding it very
> > > difficult
> > > to be cynical about OLPC and even more difficult to understand the
> > > cynicism of others.
> > >
> > >
> > > So ... back to VMware emulations until mid-January. :)
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> >
> >
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>
>
> --
> Charbax,
> Nicolas Charbonnier
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