Re:Step 1: give every kid a laptop. Step 2: learning begins?
by mapster on Tuesday February 14, 2012 @10:52AM
(#3590413)
My inlaws purchased a fancy laptop for my kids. It serves as a game and Youtube hub. Occasional Wikipedia lookup for school. I help them fiddle with a few kid-level programming apps, but other than that I have the existential feeling towards computers and kids: what's the point? I'd just a soon break out the Apple 2e from the garage and let them stare at the DOS prompt - they might discover its a computer that way and have to DO something that benefits them.
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Re:Step 1: give every kid a laptop. Step 2: learning begins?
by lotu on Tuesday February 14, 2012 @03:32PM
(#3591682)
Not everyone is going to grow up to be a programmer. Viewing videos and playing games are important developmental activities. Yes programming a computer is a stunning form of creation for me and many others here but not everyone shares that view. For others, music, art, writing, teaching, and building give them that feeling of joy of creating.
Re:Step 1: give every kid a laptop. Step 2: learning begins?
by mapster on Tuesday February 14, 2012 @03:39PM
(#3591711)
Spot on. Not to imply computers are for programming only. I am perplexed at how to best make a computer/laptop useful to a kid. The issue I see are: too many options, too many passive activities, or too complex creative applications.