first mention of twins

Following up from some previous comments ...

The problem with education in science and technology (you can add art too) is not a hardware problem... The Rpi is not a solution.

The lack of, or limited, or non-affordable Internet access can't be solved with the Rpi, and IMHO as an "Internet Device" it sucks.

One of the keys to fix the current educational system is to throw 99.99% of it away, it is the same system we were educated, and our grandparents too, we waste zillions in $$ to print outdated books that very often nobody uses, and we tell the kids how to answer a question instead of training them to reason about how to get to the answer.

The Rpi could be an interesting way to "entice" kids to get involved with technology, but again it is not a hardware problem, I'll spend more time and cycles on how to teach good ol math and logic in a more innovative and modern way, the Rpi and Phyton are not "teaching" tools. I learned to program with a notepad and a pencil.

I really don't have a good answer on what is best to do, and it is something where we can use  all these collaboration tools, social media, forums, etc, where we can openly discuss and share ideas and experiences, but when part of the discussion is "censored," or biased, or if you think differenet or have other ideas get tagged as a "concern troll" it won't work, and we are wasting this valuable community and way of communication.

My kids were born in a complete different world, they don't "dial" a number anymore ... they need an educational system upgraded to their generation.

I really like listening/reading Sir Ken Robinson approach to the urgent need to change the way how we educate kids.

My .02

Jorge

Following up from some previous comments ...

The problem with education in science and technology (you can add art too) is not a hardware problem... The Rpi is not a solution.

The lack of, or limited, or non-affordable Internet access can't be solved with the Rpi, and IMHO as an "Internet Device" it sucks.

One of the keys to fix the current educational system is to throw 99.99% of it away, it is the same system we were educated, and our grandparents too, we waste zillions in $$ to print outdated books that very often nobody uses, and we tell the kids how to answer a question instead of training them to reason about how to get to the answer.

The Rpi could be an interesting way to "entice" kids to get involved with technology, but again it is not a hardware problem, I'll spend more time and cycles on how to teach good ol math and logic in a more innovative and modern way, the Rpi and Phyton are not "teaching" tools. I learned to program with a notepad and a pencil.

I really don't have a good answer on what is best to do, and it is something where we can use  all these collaboration tools, social media, forums, etc, where we can openly discuss and share ideas and experiences, but when part of the discussion is "censored," or biased, or if you think differenet or have other ideas get tagged as a "concern troll" it won't work, and we are wasting this valuable community and way of communication.

My kids were born in a complete different world, they don't "dial" a number anymore ... they need an educational system upgraded to their generation.

I really like listening/reading Sir Ken Robinson approach to the urgent need to change the way how we educate kids.

My .02

Jorge

jamodio wrote:

 

The Rpi could be an interesting way to "entice" kids to get involved with technology, but again it is not a hardware problem, I'll spend more time and cycles on how to teach good ol math and logic in a more innovative and modern way, the Rpi and Phyton are not "teaching" tools. I learned to program with a notepad and a pencil.

Well said.  Enticement and education are two different things.

Cheap computer boards can provide enticement, and they can reduce the financial disincentive against experimentation, but by themselves they provide no education at all.  In addition to a suitable platform and/or equipment, education requires  1) a learning process and 2)  very strong learning involvement by the person who is trying to learn.  These are not optional.

The learning process is in virtually all cases some variation on a person who knows something communicating that knowledge to someone who doesn't.  The presence of the tutor doesn't have to be in person --- textbooks have provided communication of knowledge by inanimate proxy ever since the printing press was invented, and nowadays electronic equivalents abound.  They are always present however, and non-optional.  Without them, a platform like a computer board can  educate only by accident of undirected personal experimentation.  Efficient directed learning requires input from those who already have the knowledge, a planned learning process.

Involvement by the learner is not optional either.  You learn nothing about programming through cut'n'paste of downloaded source code into your IDE following by clicking 'Build' and 'Run'.  Nothing at all.  You might think you have learned something at the time because you did read and maybe understood the source code, but a fortnight later you will remember nothing, and even less will you be able to apply the experience to other problems.  It requires effort (and a certain amount of pain) to learn, and without that effort you will not learn despite having gone through the motions.

This is just to expand on what you wrote.  A cheap platform can certainly remove barriers to education (and that is definitely valuable), but it should not be confused with education itself.  That's a much harder nut to crack.

jamodio wrote:

 

One of the keys to fix the current educational system is to throw 99.99% of it away, it is the same system we were educated, and our grandparents too, we waste zillions in $$ to print outdated books that very often nobody uses, and we tell the kids how to answer a question instead of training them to reason about how to get to the answer.

couldn't agree more. even as a kid I could never understand why the only 'correct' answer was the one they wanted to hear. Go beyond obvious stuff like 2+2 and it's rarely so simple.

Outdated books is only part of the problem, I recently had to go and get an 'industry certification' where the 5 year old PC being used for the exam proved that the 'correct' answer was now wrong as while technology had moved on, the certification hasn't. I found it quite amusing as by passing the exam I'm basically getting myself certified as being at least out of date, if not outright incompetent

I learned to program with a notepad and a pencil.

in hex.. since various bits of software weren't available and had to be done by hand. I'd not necessarily wish that experience on others, but it certainly gave a bit of perspective and a deeper understanding that doesn't seem to exist in these days of drag & drop 'programming'.