It's a toy, nothing else, what are they supposed to learn on it when the interface is so different from anything else out there ? As soon as they are in front of a normal conputer all their knowledge will be useless.
This thing is actually dangerous, it will keep the people in charge from spending the money required to get real computers.
I would actually think that if this became popular then maybe the said OS will develop on a wider scale with yet more programs to learn from.
Also I have not used computers in school (unless you count the old acorn and bbcs) yet not through studies but my own initiative have I learned to use not only windows but also mac and linux as well, as well as many of the programs that are associated with each platform. I seriously think you are "dumbing down" the learning potential of the kids who would choose to go further into computers by making such a presumption.
Nicholas Negroponte ... said he deliberately wanted to avoid giving children computers they might someday use in an office. "In fact, one of the saddest but most common conditions in elementary school computer labs (when they exist in the developing world), is the children are being trained to use Word, Excel and PowerPoint," Negroponte wrote in an e-mail interview. "I consider that criminal, because children should be making things, communicating, exploring, sharing, not running office automation tools."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
KL @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:41AM
It's a toy, nothing else, what are they supposed to learn on it when the interface is so different from anything else out there ? As soon as they are in front of a normal conputer all their knowledge will be useless.
This thing is actually dangerous, it will keep the people in charge from spending the money required to get real computers.
Ebzy @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:48AM
I would actually think that if this became popular then maybe the said OS will develop on a wider scale with yet more programs to learn from.
Also I have not used computers in school (unless you count the old acorn and bbcs) yet not through studies but my own initiative have I learned to use not only windows but also mac and linux as well, as well as many of the programs that are associated with each platform. I seriously think you are "dumbing down" the learning potential of the kids who would choose to go further into computers by making such a presumption.
Leonard Nimrod @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:52AM
Real computer? Let's see... It has a CPU, RAM, and I/O. Yep, it's real computer alright.
I bet you're one of those knuckleheads who thinks Windows is the only OS worth learning.
If you teach the foundations of computing then they will be able to traverse any system with little instruction.
Christiaan @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:59AM
KL, as per http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/02/business/NA_FEA_FIN_US_Hundred_Dollar_Laptop.php
Nicholas Negroponte ... said he deliberately wanted to avoid giving children computers they might someday use in an office. "In fact, one of the saddest but most common conditions in elementary school computer labs (when they exist in the developing world), is the children are being trained to use Word, Excel and PowerPoint," Negroponte wrote in an e-mail interview. "I consider that criminal, because children should be making things, communicating, exploring, sharing, not running office automation tools."