[wplug] computer use for the young

gonffen gonffen at gonffen.cjb.net
Thu Jun 12 23:18:01 EDT 2003


-----Original Message-----
From: wplug-admin at wplug.org [mailto:wplug-admin at wplug.org] On Behalf Of
Brad Hoover
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2003 11:06 PM
To: wplug at wplug.org
Subject: Re: [wplug] computer use for the young

I was interested in this thread of discussion because
of what it says about our society.  Today, it seems
that computer usage or knowledge is seen as an
important skill, and it is to a point.  However this
was a recent occurrence, and I've read or attended
lectures that say computers -- particularly in schools
are not necessarily a good thing for small children.


----Ya sure.  They help us a lot!  I mean its not like they don't leave
the games unblocked.  Anything we can do that's not educational is to
boring to do.

One of the best sources for alternative opinions about
this is a journal called "Netfuture" written by Steve
Talbott.  In short, Talbott (author of "The Future
Does Not Compute: Transcending the Machines in Our
Midst" published ironically by O'Reilly) feels that
computers are *not* important in general education,
and more reliance on computers as teachers is a bad
thing for everyone.  He writes much more eloquently
than I, so I'm going to give you several links:

----I don't even have to read these to know this guy has no clue what
he's talking about.  I bet he hasn't even stepped into a classroom with
computers to see what effect they take on.

http://www.praxagora.com/stevet/fdnc/appc.html
http://www.praxagora.com/stevet/meditations/educ.html
http://www.netfuture.org/2000/Sep1200_111.html
http://www.netfuture.org/2002/Feb1202_128.html

Also I found an article on the subject from The
Chronicle of Higher Education:

http://chronicle.com/colloquy/98/skeptics/background.htm

----Sorry but I find that normally these guys have some good points...
But a little bit of counter-thought kills every idea they seem to think
up.  Most of the time reasons not to listen come to me...  But hey I can
think real nuts sometimes...

Finally, in the fall of 2001 Clifford Stoll (whose
name I presume most of you recognize) gave a guest
lecture at Mercyhurst College that I attended.  He
wrote software for UC Berkeley for a while, as well as
doing  but got fed up with it.  He has a computer at
work, but refuses to have one at home.  In fact he
doesn't even have a TV at home either. 

----Ok no TV... hmm... I could never do it, but for kids especially it
would be great.

 While, I know
this is not really feasible (or enjoyable for that
matter) for everyone, he made a pretty good argument
against educational software of any kind.  He said
knowledge/education is about people, not facts or
abilities.

----Ok, if you can't get along with people you get no where in life but
still, sometimes they can't teach.  If the game teaches you, well it's
probably going to be the best thing you're getting. After all, most of
the time the teachers aren't much better.

When someone asked him about "Math Blaster" and the
like, he still said software wasn't the best choice.
His argument was that teachers, even in subjects where
the repetition is more mundane (foreign language
classes, or some math courses), still make it much
more worthwhile and engaging than machines can.

Anyway, I wanted to play contrarian for the evening
and give you all something to ponder.  

---Yes go ahead, play the devil's advocate.

Finally, even
if you don't agree with what Steve Talbott says in the
links about, peruse the back issues of "Netfuture" on
his site.  He's an excellent writer, IMHO, and he
talks about a wide-range of topics.

Brad

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM).
http://calendar.yahoo.com
_______________________________________________
wplug mailing list
wplug at wplug.org
http://www.wplug.org/mailman/listinfo/wplug





More information about the wplug mailing list