Too Many Computers Hurt Learning 935
An anonymous reader writes "The Christian Science Monitor is running a story on a recent University of Munich study of school children in 31 countries that found a correlation between frequent computer usage and poor academic performance. Having more than one computer in the home was found to be particularly bad news! For those Slashdotters with children, how do you deal with your kids' computer use?"
Hrmm (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't think that multiple computers in a household are patently bad. I think that poor parental understanding and control of their children's using habits is to blame. The key is not too much computer usage, it's too much computer usage doing the wrong things. Half-Life 2 is not a learning experience. How Stuff Works [howstuffworks.com] can be.
Computer use in the school is still a fairly new tool. We aren't adept at producing good on-screen content for learning, yet. We still try to push everyone along at the same pace , where computer-based learning should preferably guarantee that a student meets the class requirements and has an opportunity to extend their knowledge beyond the "lowest common denominator" teachings.
Bottom line, computers are still too new to teachers and too unfamiliar to parents right now. Give it some time.
Re:Hrmm (Score:5, Insightful)
Might I also add that we need to discourage children from learning to read and write from the contents of chat rooms.
l337 5p34k c4n 0n1y hur7 gr4d3z.
Re:Hrmm (Score:5, Interesting)
My idea (and I'm completely serious, I think this would work if it caught on!) is to get people to use IM and chat room clients that check the grammar and spelling of anything they type, and then refuse to transmit anything that's incorrect. People will over time develop impeccable linguistic skills!
Then part II: When speech recognition becomes widespread, make the recognition software only recognize clearly enunciated words (and then check them for grammar!).
Think about it. We could have an entire society where everyone speaks perfectly clear, grammatically precise day-to-day English (or whatever language you speak in your country)!
Re:Hrmm (Score:3, Insightful)
And which country's grammar and spelling would be determined the correct one? Take english for example. We have American english, Brittish english, Australian english and slashdot english.
A joke perhaps: And American, English, and Australian connect to a spelling correcting chat room and nothing is said.
Should I have mentioned that it was a lame joke.
Re:Hrmm (Score:4, Insightful)
A couple of years ago one of my cousins had experienced some hard times so she asked if her son could live with me till she gets back on her feet again. He was failing the 4th grade when he arrived, he is now an Honor student too.
I have 6 computers in this house. Each has their own machine. Learning doesn't come from any of these computers, infact they are a distraction. But they are also a reward for working hard.
I don't think computers helped my kids education, but I don't think it hurts either.
I volunteer to help them with homework everyday, if I felt like it or not. I encourage them to get work out of the way so they can enjoy their free time on their computers without worry or stress. I also manage their internet access, when the grades fail so does their net connection.
Re:Hrmm (Score:5, Informative)
CD-ROM encyclopaedias (when I was growing up) and more recently things like Wikipedia provide a valuable source of information - not as a substitute for books, but as an additional source. When computers are treated as a tool, they are a valuable aid. When they are treated as a toy, or as an end in themselves, they are a distraction (although sometimes an educational one).
I suspect that a lot of the correlation between lower grades and access to multiple computers is a result of parents who treat a computer as a substitute for human interaction. Last century the same parents would have allowed children their own television and let them watch it all of the time. In both cases the parents are at fault, not the technology. Having children is a responsibility, one which it sounds as if you are quite rare in fulfilling.
Computers or typewriters? (Score:3, Interesting)
Ah... I had a similar experience but, given my age, the change came not from computers but typewriters. Typing let me write quickly enough to be coherent. Using a keyb
Re:Hrmm (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Hrmm (Score:5, Insightful)
This is slashdot, that's pretty much a given.
What's really sad is that Slashdot, a website supposedly for scientifically-minded people can't even understand the basic tenet of science that is "correlation does not equal causation".
All the article said was that they found a correlation between multiple computers in the home and poor academic performance, but that doesn't imply, as the headline states "Too many computers Hurt Learning." It could just mean that spoiled kids with access to computers don't do well in school because they've had everything handed to them. But of course, that wouldn't be as sensational, now would it?
-Grym
Re:Hrmm (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Hrmm (Score:4, Interesting)
I think the way Konqueror has it now is best: highlight words it thinks are wrong, but still accept them when you tell it to.
Re:Hrmm (Score:5, Insightful)
Or alternatively, the language would evolve in the direction set by certain Large Corporations. Enter doublespeak plus good.
The language defines what we can think about, and how we think about those things. It is not a good thing to attempt to restrict it, since by doing so we are restricting people's thoughts.
Having said that, I'll continue to make fun of anyone using 1337 5p33k.
Re:Hrmm (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Hrmm (Score:4, Insightful)
Errors have been found in your post. Your post will not be approved until they're corrected:
would be useful for is people further from this sanskrit we're calling: awkward
...distinctions," I'm pointing out some facts which aren't likely to change any time soon whether we like them or not.: dangling participle detected
Re:Hrmm (Score:5, Insightful)
Like anything else, it's all about how it's used... and perhaps even who is using it. That said, it's important to note that I am not a member of the masses... so how do the masses respond? How do they perceive computers, how they work and what they're for?
Re:Hrmm (Score:3)
Re:Hrmm (Score:5, Insightful)
For example:Which one looks easier to do? There is a speed up of over six times by using the abbreviation.
And then there are other aspects, like when I'm trying to talk about technical stuff, or fix problems for someone.
There is a reason why we use things like this. Because they work. Language isn't meant to be a set of laws, it's supposed to be a way of conveying information. We need to start treating it that way.
Fatal Overreach (Score:4, Insightful)
But your generalization to "Language isn't meant to be a set of laws" is not supported by your earlier arguments.
The reason that language IS represented by a set of laws as if it weren't then there'd be no way to teach it in geographically disparate locations where folks may not be in contact with native speakers of that language. How can I learn Samoan if I live in SmallTown, KS? I need to refer to the laws of that language. No laws --> loss of structure --> lack of ability to communicate clearly and effectively. The laws are not there to be punitive; they are there to make the system work.
Yes but... (Score:3, Insightful)
If you mean adding in new words (e.g. "blog"), then of course that's already built in and happens.
If you mean changing the way that basic grammar rules work, I'd think that'd be a mistake.
If you've read any Shakespeare (which I'm sure you have), you'd see that the English language has adapted since then (mostly in common word choice -- we see fewer of these: doth, 'tis, o'er, hath, etc.).
But that leads us to one of the reasons that it's important tha
Re:Hrmm (Score:4, Insightful)
That's the lamest idea I've heard in a while. Computers are supposed to make things easier. Instead of failing
OMW 2 store, then BRB
the computer should expand it to be
I'm on my way to the store, then I'll be right back.
People don't (generally) type shortcuts because they don't know any better - they do it because it is faster and/or they're lazy (notice 3 contractions in that statement). Or they do it because they've learned it from chat rooms. If IRC servers (etc) expanded all these shortcuts, folks would learn correct forms by reading them - which is where they're learning the incorrect forms now.
In short: positive reinforcement is better than negative.
Re:Hrmm (Score:3, Informative)
that said, i do not entirely disagree with your idea to use computers to help people focus their language skills. i just think it would require too
Re:Hrmm (Score:4, Informative)
Signs like "Fish & Chip, $5" or "All player must register before going on ice" are so common here, it kind of makes me sick.
Still, English has been moving since Old English from a tense and ending based grammar and towards a word order based grammar (think of how weird "yoda talk" seems, even when it isn't technically grammatically incorrect, and understand it just fine you can), so we may just be losing those agreements at the end of words, because the sentence structure dictates the meaning without them. It's still grating to me, but I bet none of the old fogeys in Shakespeare's time were down with the great vowel shift [harvard.edu].
Yoda and Word Order (Score:3, Interesting)
Speaking as a non-native speaker of english , my language would order verbs in EXACTLY the way yoda does. In fact, English's order of verbs sounds (sounded) alien to me when I was learning to speak. But after nearly 20 years of constant usage, it's my natural language to write with.
All that said, I did learn to write English first and my mother tongue later - which had
Nature of computer usage changed. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Nature of computer usage changed. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Nature of computer usage changed. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Nature of computer usage changed. (Score:5, Insightful)
As useful as the internet is for homework and research, parents should really limit internet usage or atleast allocate time for their kids away from the computer (or the TV) to set aside to do schoolwork. I always did my best work in high school when my cable modem was acting screwy or I was forced off the computer.
Re:Hrmm (Score:5, Insightful)
Computers are great tools for learning, but they are also great tools for distraction.
Re:Hrmm (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Hrmm (Score:3, Funny)
Procrastionators... (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't know why but for some reason I just can't work any other way but under the gun; without urgency I tend to just lose intrest. With literature on subjects I really want to learn about just a click away it becomes even more difficult.
Re:Procrastionators... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Hrmm (Score:3, Interesting)
With the old command line computers, you had to be in control of everything the computer did (games excepted, to a limit; but my statement was even somewhat true for the games of the time).
As a result, computers didn't hurt academic performance all that much. But even for those households with computers, back then, I found that students who
Re:Hrmm (Score:5, Insightful)
Now, having said that, I did have a computer and phone in my room before I turned 18. However, the phone was there because I helped with the family business on a daily basis (I made personal calls maybe once a month off of it). And, I was into computers before I was 10
In the end, all kids need is good parenting; not regulation by the government, not censorship by special interest groups, just good parenting.
Multitasking is harmful for Most kids. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Multitasking is harmful for Most kids. (Score:2)
Normal computer use is like tv-zapping^2.
Take a textbook and read it, or take a sheet of paper to write something, you can concentrate and archive something.
Have your computer with the webbrowser open, then there will be icq popups, new email, winamp in the background, plus the quick game or cool website is only a second away from the boring "need to do" stuff, ready to be changed to at the first opportiunity.
I remember that when i was a kid, i did ZERO useful stuff with the computer, and only learn
Computers facilitate--not replace--learning (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Computers facilitate--not replace--learning (Score:2, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Seems logical (Score:2, Insightful)
Leverage your tools (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Leverage your tools (Score:5, Insightful)
Agreed. Whis is why I friggin HATE technical interviews. I have 7 years of experience coding Java, and some guy on the other side of the desk asks me how many methods the serializable interface has. That was an actual question. Maybe, just maybe, I've spent MORE time learning concepts and how to build effective applications that users actually need, and LESS time memorizing javadoc that is only a click away from any PC in the country. And you wonder why big IT departments are disfunctional. Because they hire 80K walking javadoc repositories to develop apps.
Re:Leverage your tools (Score:4, Insightful)
Computers are just objects they don't make someone fail courses, so don't blame it. You want someone to blame, blame the compete lack of parenting shown all too often, or blame the students lack of self control, this is just more people looking to lay blame elsewhere and say, "look its not my fault."
Thank you, but no (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Thank you, but no (Score:2, Funny)
Let me just express my disliking of you, says the 50th percentile
Re:Thank you, but no (Score:2)
The problem pointed out here is when the rest of your classmates put in the same amount of gaming time as you do and their grades suffer for it.
Re:Thank you, but no (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Thank you, but no (Score:5, Insightful)
Still got a full scholarship for college too.
Course, I never learned to do homework, so I flunked out my first year. So I would suggest doing homework just for the practice of self discipline to others, not necessarily for its educational value. Or if you aren't going to do homework, spend X amount of your free time learning SOMETHING instead of fucking off.
Teacher to asshole, teacher to asshole... (Score:3, Interesting)
In my classroom I would call you a black hole. Not only do you take the teacher's time and suck it down that deep gravity well of arrogance but you end up sucking the energy from others who don't have that level of knowledge and really need some of it from whatever source they can get.
And you know what's great? Not only do I fight black holes like you, but I also fight another b
Re:Teacher to asshole, teacher to asshole... (Score:3, Insightful)
Now, a year out
Re:Thank you, but no (Score:3, Interesting)
Yet, I could not pull of more than a 3.0 GPA in high school, despite what I believed was a 95% test average. And now college has rolled around, and I am failing two classes (though I'm easily the teachers' pet, as they are all magnificently
Re:Thank you, but no (Score:3, Interesting)
What would be best though, I think, is look for students like you and I, and give them something they have to work for in high school. These days I can sit down and work 14 hours, but it's because I'm interested in and love what I'm doing. Perhaps if in high school homework was more than simple repitition of things I already knew, it would have been much easier to develope those work habits.
or mayb
i work from home (Score:5, Interesting)
sure the correlation isn't between those with internet access and those without?
It's a multi-use system. (Score:3, Insightful)
"Computer use" does not really describe the activity with any amount of precision.
Me (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Me (Score:2)
(is this a grade, or a comparative place in a list, ect)?
Makes some sense (Score:5, Insightful)
Let's be honest. How many of us sit down to "just check e-mail" and find that nearly an hour has passed without really doing anything productive?
If usage goes up but productive usage doesn't go up, then time is wasted.
Obvious Correlation (Score:2, Interesting)
Computers have become a crutch and a hindrance rather than a tool. Pretty sad.
Well, yea... (Score:5, Insightful)
Multitasking also doesnt mix well with research, creativity, or anything really worth doing well for that matter.
Computer's fault? (Score:5, Interesting)
For instance, I used computers a lot when I was younger, but it was playing around with Logo and Basic on an Apple 2. I turned out to be a pretty good student.
Re:Computer's fault? (Score:2, Insightful)
My kids only have learning software on the computer and it does help. The entertainment comes from the PS2 and XBox which th
Unsupported Conclusions (Score:5, Insightful)
Sounds more like a case of parental apathy (Score:5, Insightful)
Speaking Of That (Score:5, Insightful)
This explains it! (Score:2)
maybe the conclusion is flawed (Score:3, Interesting)
i note some objectivity here (if not much) as i was not one of the geeky computer guys (i am now).
XBOX + HALO2 + INTERNET = FAIL (Score:2, Insightful)
It's too bad that computer games can't be more educational.
The TV (Score:2, Interesting)
I agree. (Score:5, Insightful)
Things I used to know by heart I've purged from my mind (mostly unintentionally) over the years. Although, I did purge my computer architecture class - MUXes, flip-flops, etc. on purpose. ugh.
Partly because I don't use that knowledge as much and partly because it's WAY too easy to jump on *.google.com and look something up. Heck, in a lot of cases, just typing a query and pounding the enter key is enough. I can usually find that nugget of information or trivia fact I'm looking for in the short description that shows up on the results screen without ever having to follow any links. Google dumbs me down.
I've turned to reading more books to combat the problem. I try to read a variety of topics that interest me such as physics, math, biology, and economics and even fiction novels too. I find that the variety of information and learning new things helps keep me "fresh" and sharp in spite of google and kcalc.
I think it's way too easy to open up a calculator, spreadsheet, web browser, [insert app here] to do things one should be able to do, or at least know how to do, by hand.
I disagree. (Score:4, Interesting)
The flaw in your logic is that you still must be able to apply SOME knowledge in order to get the answer that you are looking for. Even if you don't know how the calculations work, you would still need to know why the calculations are important and what they can be applied to.
Sure, you can use a calculator or whatever to perform calculations on some numbers. But, are these just arbitrary calculations you are making? No, they are likely part of some larger problem. And you must know how these calculations fit into the problem, or what calculations to use in the first place. You still need to know the principles behind what you are doing. If you don't, a calculator (or other tool) will be useless to you, except in doing simple arbitrary tasks.
In this way, the tools we have available to us save us a lot of time, energy, and sometimes needless frustration.
I remember some of the more advanced math classes I took in college. A single problem could, at times, take more than 10 minutes of work to solve. And in that time, it was easy to make a small mistake somewhere, even if you were being careful, and ruin the entire thing. Or, you could insert the problem into a computer math program and have the answer in less than a second. Guaranteed correct, if you did not make a typo entering it. As far as I'm concerned, doing such a problem by hand is entirely counter-productive. And you know what? I'm not even sure I want to know HOW it's done. I just want to know why it's useful. I want to know how to apply it to something productive.
Incomplete Study? (Score:5, Insightful)
The flip side would be what they actually get to do on the computer. If the parents limit them to games and programs they set up for the kids, that's almost as bad as spoonfeeding an 8 year old. The technically oriented/geek parents (or, were I one, this is what I would do), make a ghost/dd/carbon copy/backup of your hard drive, and let the kid loose for a few hours to do whatever he wants. If you're a true geek, the kid would have his/her own dedicated computer to play with, to let him find his own way around. Show the kid how to use the mouse, and how to click. Teach them the basics of how to use the computer, and let them learn their own way. That's how I was brought up, and I'm more capable of using/building/working on/maintaining computers than 99.9999% of all the people I know. Plop me in front of a foreign interface I've never seen before and I'll figure out the basics of how to use it within a few minutes (or if in another language, hours).
Computers can be extremely powerful tools for learning, but only if used in proper context. Parents who use the computer as an electronic baby-sitter will find their kid's grades slumping, while a kid who figures out the basics of the bash shell by the age of 5 could probably graduate high school at the age of 10. Give kids the tools to foster deductive reasoning, and they'll blossom into students with an insatiable appetite to learn and figure stuff out.
Spellbinding. (Score:3, Interesting)
Now there's a thought. My favorite quote from the article:
consensus holds that more research is needed to know exactly where computers make the most difference in an educational process. "There's this sort of bizarre belief that computers cast a spell over students and teachers and schools," says Christopher Dede, professor of learning technologies at the Harvard School of Education. "Can you imagine what would h
Correlation != Causation (Score:5, Insightful)
There have been numerous reports released in Australia recently on how literacy and numeracy standards have been slipping in recent years. There was even an article [smh.com.au] yesterday commenting on how illeteracy is now being 'diagnosed' as ADHD, with children being taken to emergency rooms for treatment when what they really need is to be taught how to read.
The computer is simply a tool, it has no moral value, if the children are taught how to use it effectively as an educational aid, and are taught to value learning, the unfettered access to a computer will be beneficial. IF the children are taught to treat education as something to be endured and that computers are toys - then that is how they will treat them.
We have a few rules, and it works (Score:5, Interesting)
1. No computer games. Yup. None.
2. TV has to be PBS, Discovery or History Channel during the week, and no more than one hour.
3. the computer is used for schoolwork and research.
4. No TV in the bedroom.
5. No headphones indoors, no excessive volume indoors.
6. No TV during Dinner. conversation is encouraged. Dinner is served at the dining table 5 nights a week (Friday is swimming, so dinner is shortened, as we go out for a snack after swimming, and Saturday dinner is often out (and never at a fast food joint.)
7. One DVD may be rented a week.
8. books, magazines, and newspapers can be read at anytime except during meals.
9. Homework is done FIRST. Then play is permitted. Making things with paper, glue, wood, paint, ink, rubber stamps, etc. is encouraged. Puzzles, word games, and other intellectual riddles are encouraged.
10. Music is always permitted, but at reasonable volumes. Playing music and singing is especially encouraged, and preferred to listening.
That's the way the house is organised, and mommy and daddy (me) follow the same rules. No exceptions.
We have 7 computers in the house, but 2 of them (a win2k laptop and an XP laptop) are for my wife's office, three are in my studio (OSX laptop, OS9 tower, SuSe "project" machine), my daughter has a desktop (Apple OS9) and a laptop (OSX). She uses them, but not as much as she reads books. she also likes to make books - she has a good head for narrative.
She (Elizabeth Spoilsport) is 7, is bilingual in French and English, writes in cursive, and does her times tables. She can recognise 4/4, 3/4, and 5/4 time signatures. She's my little pride and joy, when she's not acting like a spoiled little snot (which only happens when she's tired or grumpy).
She also feeds the kitties, waters the kitchen herbs, (fresh basil is DIVINE), and when she gets all A's in her work, we give her a small allowance which she then divides up between a savings account, an investment account, a charity account, and a spending account.
And that's how it works in the Spoilsport household.
RS
Re:We have a few rules, and it works (Score:4, Insightful)
The computer is used for schoolwork and research.
It sounds like you are discouraging creative computer use? Why?
What if your kid could be a great computer programmer? What if they wanted to create a video game?
The right computer games encourage thinking.
Re:We have a few rules, and it works (Score:3, Insightful)
1. Develop solid math skills
2. Develop solid physics skills
3. Profit!!!
KFG
Re:We have a few rules, and it works (Score:4, Insightful)
You heard me right. Book learning is much more useful. Math and science are useful for doing technical stuff like optimizing the display and creating realistic physics. Other non-computer fields are useful, too. Sociology, geography, statistics, etc. The list goes on.
Spending all your time playing computer games means you are only familiar with WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE.
Re:We have a few rules, and it works (Score:5, Funny)
Then what the heck are you doing here?
Re:We have a few rules, and it works (Score:4, Insightful)
Age (Score:5, Insightful)
More than likely she might rebel against your admittedly stern authority as she grows older. Also as she grows older and is exposed to more things she will realize that the lifestyle that she has been exposed to is radical different than others. At the very least she might begin to question why you chose to raise her in that fashion or more likely use it as a further excuse to rebel.
I'm going to stop here with my little dime store analysis of what I see you doing but I hope you take some time to realize that your raising a human being, not something for you to try and pour into what you see as the perfect mold.
Re:Age (Score:3, Insightful)
In most other ways, we're very liberal parents who want her to explore things that interest her. It's very likely that once broadcast goes HD, we won't upgrade - we'll get a projector, and then the only thing she can watch will be stuff she ren
Re:We have a few rules, and it works (Score:3, Insightful)
As for the chores, those sound typical for any child of that age. But forget the fresh basil, get the fresh catnip instead. Use it as mint in your cooking and then rub the extra on whatever you
Why even ask? (Score:5, Funny)
1) Turn off the computer(s)
2) Date (or more accurately, find a girl desperate enough to go out with us)
3) Turn off the computer(s) and go out long enough to have a serious relationship
4) Marry (nowadays optional)
5) Turn off the computer(s)and actually make kids
6) Give up control of one or more of *your* computer(s) so that the aforementioned hypothetical kids can get on the computer(s) so that later, as you realize there is more to parenting than sitting them in front of a computer screen the entire day, you can kick them off
Sounds like a long shot to me.
I've seen problems already... (Score:3, Insightful)
Fortunately I was in marching band, jazz band, electric car club, and some other structured things for me to redirect myself to when my parents forced the issue and wouldn't let me use the family computer for games, but it definitely wasn't easy, and probably would have been even harder if I hadn't had other activities that I liked to turn to. Consequently I'm paying close attention to what happens in what I'm seeing now, because I know from experience what can happen if things get out of hand.
The moral of my own story: Have something else to do besides computers. Read. Play sports. Play a musical instrument. Work with your hands on something, like cars, or woodworking, or jewelery. Find a passion to compete with the one operating at 1024x768. It's definitely a lot more healthy that way.
One thing to note: (Score:3, Interesting)
Sit down, and THINK!
Back when most here present started their computer use, computers werent entertainment stuff that every grandma owned. Getting into computers needed real attention, technical interest, an open mind to find out how things work, ect.
Of course, when only nerds use computers, computerusers are smart. But maybe everyone would have been smarter if he didnt spend that much time with the computer.
I certainly would.
Nowadays, most "average" users use pcs as an entertainment system, with an added value that they can fool others that they are learning/doing something useful.
And that certainly doesnt help...
Correlation is not causation (Score:5, Insightful)
Some possible causalities here:
I could keep coming up with reasons all day. The article seems to assume #1 is the explanation, but the study provides no evidence to suggest that #1 is any more plausible than the others.
I am a teacher (Score:5, Interesting)
I strongly suspect that the only thing that most people learn from machines is how to be lonely..... of couse I'm sitting at one... in a room... alone...scratching.....hmmmmmm.
At any rate, the more time I spend with the students in conversation over the hum of a projector the more the students seem likely to absorb things like IRQ tables and subnetting. The kids really do seem to be more inclined to actively particpate if there is a person leading them.
Maybe the tests are the problem? (Score:3, Interesting)
But what about their performance in technology-related areas? What about their programming ability, their ability to think logically, their knowledge of and familiarity with computers? Those things will surely improve, unless they're just firing up Half-Life in which case their scores will plummet just as if they had a PlayStation or an XBox. Just because their performance suffers in the traditional areas doesn't mean computers are bad for them - they may in fact be better prepared for 21st century jobs than their schoolmates who get higher grades because their parents make them study the classics and ban them from using computers...
I smell an agenda (Score:5, Insightful)
My daughter is 8-years-old. She has been using the computer (mostly for games) for several years. I used to sit with her and play the Jumpstart Toddler series with her when she was 2. Most of what she plays is educational, but I also let her play video games on the computer, including games on the GameCube, her GameBoy and our old N64.
So, the verdict? She's consistently ahead in school, reading and math skills are 1-2 grades ahead. She has no weak areas, no areas of concern and no behavior issues; she has a creative mind and is a whiz at problem solving and her verbal skills are remarkable at times. I couldn't ask for better. Her teachers are always happy to have conferences with my wife and me, and they have always spent the half-hour praising her and quizzing us on what we're doing at home.
I think it has less to do with the amount of time a child spends on the computer and more to do with what they're doing on it specifically. My daughter does educational stuff along with the occasional video games with no graphic violence. I also monitor what she does and help her get the most out of it. I just recently showed her the basics of how to create web pages and she's been coding her own pages by hand. No report anywhere will convince me that those kinds of activities are hurting her learning abilities.
It's just like TV. You can do it right or wrong. I don't think you can blame the computer itself.
Re:I smell an agenda (Score:5, Insightful)
It's not about what you use but how you use it... (Score:3, Insightful)
Computers are a very powerful tool in such a way that they can be used for almost whatever you might desire. Is this not a good thing?
If one desired distraction and could not find a computer, I'm sure said one would find a gaming console or a limping dog or a spot on the wall.
Computers are a tool to allow people to explore whatever it is they want to explore. Can't blame computers for allowing peoples' bad habits to show through.
Before computers, TV prevented me from doing my homework. Before TV, it was drawing and blankly staring out the window. Before windows, it was the faint light breaking through the ovum.
I know what I'm doing when I want to do it. I just don't like homework. >.
Now that I have slashdot... things are different.
Or not.
Back to homework now.
- shazow
The funniest part (Score:3, Insightful)
Computers Okay if They are Delayed (Score:3, Insightful)
As a freshman computer science major in a required writing class, I wrote an essay suggesting that premature introduction of computer technology could lead to severe developmental progress. One of my primary arguments was that the development of fine motor skills and handwriting was stumped when children are allowed to type and use the mouse rather than write, paint, etc.
Further, (and granted, this was prior to the widespread advent of the WWW) the 'curiosity driven' learning experience is interrupted by the immediacy of technology provided information. Case in point, Online Encyclopedia vs. Book Encyclopedia. With one, I type in my topic and immediately receive a specific article. With the other, I have to learn how to look the topic up, and in that process am inevitably exposed to other topics which may catch my attention and allow me to learn a bit more.
My suggestion at that time, and one I would probably stand by today, is that computer technology in the classroom should be delayed until the Junior High (7th or 8th grade) level. In America at least, we see quite an opposite trend, where children are exposed to technology at younger and younger ages.
Suspect the real issue is Internet access (Score:3, Interesting)
This is an issue I'm struggling with now. With 8 computers in the house (including one Linux firewall), do I put a PC in each of the 3 kids' bedrooms? At this moment, I'm inclined to install e.g. Mepis and restrict Internet access to e.g. 7pm-8pm each day on bedroom PCs; that should remove the possibility of endless hours of pointless IM and downloading WM* files, while still letting them get homework done and talk to their friends for a bit each night. If there's some exceptional circumstance, then Mum or I can invoke the "Internet access extension" clause in our contracts...
Still struggling to work out if this is a good approach or not, amidst the other obvious (e.g. no access, or unrestricted access) and not-so-obvious options. I'd be interested in any other suggestions.
Wrong point of view. (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, you could blame the computers, but realistically I think a lot has to be said about the deterioration of the teaching system. I would know, I work in schools and see daily how bad they've gotten. Kids have no respect... yes they didn't have respect when I was in school (and hey, I'm 23), but now they're much more open about doing everything short of (and sometimes beyond) telling their profs to f*** off.
br As for the profs, well, it's rather discouraging trying to teach kids that don't want to learn, somewhat like watching the coding project you babied for the last year get tanked by management in the final stages.
But as to the kids that do want to learn, and make use of computers as a tool... they're going to do more than the previous generation did with a set of fancy calculators. Realistic simulations, architectural tools... computers expand in other areas.
Of course, I suppose I could look at myself. Grandiose projects planned, but after a day of work I'm often sacked and just end up playing games to relax. If I had to sit through some of the classes that students do today, I'd probably do the same...
TV in the classroom (Score:5, Interesting)
Hopefully the computer hype will die down soon enough.
Poor athletic performance (Score:3, Insightful)
Can't be truu (Score:3, Funny)
Correlation is not causation. (Score:3, Insightful)
The actual study says they've found a correlation, the braindead /. editor writes (or accepts, whatever) a title which would indicate causation.
Say it again boys and girls, real loud, maybe even the editors will hear it; Correlation is not causation.
Computer geeks, play with your kids! (Score:3, Funny)