

OLPC XO Notebook Production Line  (Source: BBC News)






Comments     Threshold


RE: Question
By theapparition on 11/8/2007 8:30:30 AM , Rating: 3
I'm not going to get into an indepth debate on this, but I somewhat agree with the OP. These may sound like a good idea at first, but I have serious doubts on thier long term effectiveness. Time will tell, I hope the contries that are spending the money know what they are doing.

In any case, computer access had consistently been shown to improve students' work. It was found that the ease of checking for spelling, and allowing major to minor edits without having to actually rewrite the entire essay was beneficial.

I'm not so sure of this. While calculators and computers can certainly improve the quantity of work, the focus in education should be quality. What good is a spell checker when the child can't spell at his required age level. Yes, it will fix mistakes, but that's not the point. Children should make mistakes, and those mistakes pointed out for them to learn. Calculators should only be used to get functions done quickly, not as a crutch with no understanding why 2+2=4. I'm not saying comptuters can't be usefull, just their implementation has to be done correctly.

Show me someone who understands the world and I'll show you peace.

While I generally agree that knowledge is our most valuable resource, there are arguments against it, too. There have been plenty of hate organizations that wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for computers and the internet now. Also consider the signifigant rise of child predation and child pornography, all the result of access to "knowledge". As with anything, computers should be used as a tool. How the tool is used (for good or bad) is always up to the user.


Related Articles
