Get laptops in their hands?
I know that having access to technology is most important in the equation of using it for education, but… this story, and Negroponte’s quote rubbed me the wrong way.
Okay, it wasn’t a quote, but a paraphrase.
Negroponte said he was mainly concerned with putting as many laptops as possible in children’s hands.
It seems the leadership behind OLPC is falling apart, even though they still hold optimism. Optimism for open-source on one side, optimism for Windows on another.
It would seem to me, getting more copies of Sugar out there is a good idea. Only with a wider base will it evolve (and in theory, improve) more quickly. It would make sense that we could install it on a fancier (read: larger) computer here in the U.S., and perhaps, even pay a small subsidy, that would pay for the hardware elsewhere.
But having “laptops in their hands” alone won’t solve many issues. OLPC is an experiment, and one, when I saw it introduced, I thought deserved a chance to succeed.
May 2nd, 2008 at 4:53 am
Many technology initiatives fail because of issues involving a lack of staff commitment. I’ve visited schools that have made tremendous investments in software and hardware but have failed to adequately engage the staff. Nothing beats seeing a $2,000 fully loaded IMAC on a teacher’s desk and it is used solely for grades and attendance.
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:40 am
Charlie:
We struggle with this ourselves. When you’re small, you can custom fit the technology to the user. I have no problem giving laptops, for instance, to a teacher who will use them each and every day with their students.
But sometimes you want to roll out large initiatives, and it is sad, that that $2K computer is appreciated more of the heat it puts off in the winter, than its capabilities to transform instruction.
For as much as I’m in the camp of encouraging teachers to squeeze the tech sponge for as much water it puts out, there’s another way of thinking that wouldn’t impose the wrong tool for that teacher’s way of teaching. IOW (in other words), there’s no magic iMac bullet that will automagically change a teacher’s teaching habits.
The conundrum then changes to… “What do we do with the teacher(s) who don’t believe that the use of technology in the classroom isn’t vital to preparing kids for their own futures?”
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:43 am
John,
What if a teacher uses a tool other than technology to “prepare kids for their own futures?” What do we do with them? I think the real question to ask is, ” what do we do with teachers who don’t prepare students for their futures?”
May 2nd, 2008 at 4:16 pm
MW:
All “tools” are technology.
Let’s say we’re talking about a third world country. Mostly a culture still based in agriculture. I can say that the OLPC will inject the interest in building high tech into that country. We’ve enjoyed high tech in the US for ages. But now, all of a sudden, some places leapfrog us with the injection of new technology (I am thinking of cell phone and internet, specifically, in Asia).
So – teaching these kids today how to teach themselves using technology that connects them with the outside world… will likely be what separates the haves from the havenots in their country.
Some of our own kids who have computers at home may benefit less from the laptop carts in our schools, but what about those who live in a home without one? How will they compete in a world that where new expectations are held in every job sector to “train yourself” and “research” answers?
I question whether or not we can prepare kids for the future today without technology (specifically, here, digital technologies).