[wplug] computer use for the young

gonffen gonffen at gonffen.cjb.net
Fri Jun 13 20:51:42 EDT 2003


Wow... this seems good :D

-----Original Message-----
From: wplug-admin at wplug.org [mailto:wplug-admin at wplug.org] On Behalf Of
Jt Chiodi
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2003 12:19 AM
To: wplug at wplug.org
Subject: RE: [wplug] computer use for the young

I didn't bother reading much of links present by Brad.  I started the
first one and lost interest pretty quick.  If you think the opinion that
Brad presents is odd, then mine will probably seem way out there.

In our house the is no functioning TV. 

---Good for you!  The tv in the end is bad for us... wish I could get
away from it..

 My two boys have never watched a
TV program or video tape or movie.  One is pre-school age, but neither
will see  the inside of a school until they are college age if we can
swing it.  We plan to home school.  

---Home school!  I have this opinion that you can't be home schooling!

We haven't decided what role if any
that the computer will play in our home school.  We have at this point
decided not use a computer to present the material we are teaching.  We
also are not letting them play games on the computer.  Why?  Well I
couldn't begin to list all of our reasons, but like anything else it is
a
matter of personal choice.


It is working for us that is all that really matters.





>
>
> -----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
>
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-- 
Jt Chiodi

www.chiodifamily.com
jt at chiodifamily.com


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