Wikipedia confirms that the urban myth, "640K ought to be enough for anyone," is wrongly attributed to Gates. However, it's a wiki-document, so who knows? I have a bit more respect for it as an urban myth.
Jackman. On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 12:44:47 -0500, Geoff Strickler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Putting computers in schools hasn't been about improving education since the > late 1980's or very early 1990's. It's about the image of improving > education. Computers became the trend and every school had to have them or > appear to be behind. If they were really interested in improving the > quality of education, they would ask the teachers to evaluate the > educational software and recommend the ones that would be beneficial in > their classrooms. The most recommended programs would then be listed and > they would request bids for systems that run that software. Hardware is > essentially a commodity, it's mostly interchangeable. Software is NOT a > commomodity, it's the single most valuable part of any computer system. > Unfortunately, people have difficulty seeing that because it's a 'virtual' > rather than a physical product. That applies to the school boards, > consumers, and businesses. Apple is (or has been) operating under the idea > that it's a hardware company, but they never really have been about > hardware. > > To paraphrase a famous saying: > It's the software, stupid. > > I've been a proponent of using computers in the classroom for years and I > still am, but I'm also jaded by the realities of how they've been > (mis-)used. I've recently experienced what I believe is the next great step > in education. SuperTeaching > (http://www.superteaching.org). It's a multi-media classroom that brings > together a lot of different elements that have been individually shown to > improve attention span, retention, learning speed, etc. You can read about > it and the theories behind it, but it's something you have to experience to > really comprehend. The weakness right now is that there is no curriculum > available, the teachers must develop the multi-media curriculum themselves. > While the system assists with that process, most teachers are not familiar > with or adept at creating multi-media material, so the efficacy is limited. > It's still the software that is the key. > > Geoff > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Byron Q. Desnoyers Winmill" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Apple2list" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2004 01:58 PM > Subject: Re: Computers in school (was: Apple IIc +(color monitor?)) > > > On Thu, Oct 21, 2004 at 01:57:24PM +0800, Dale Hill wrote: > > > Our school has gone totally to the dark side, other than the two > > > or three Apple IIes with color monitors working in the 1st grade > > > school and kindergarten. > > > > I became disenchanted with computers in schools around my last year > > of high school, and it had nothing to do with their choice of > > platform (they simply moved from old PCs to new PCs). Around that > > point it became clear that computers were becoming status symbols, > > rather than tools to teach new skills. > > > > While I agree with another poster about schools dumping their > > investment in old software is stupid, particularly because it is > > the software that matters, you have to look at it from the perspective > > of the school board. If parents get wind that their kids are > > learning on twenty year old Apple IIe's when the equipment becomes > > obsolete in three to four years, they are going to be upset. > > > > There are a couple of reasons for that. One is the ease with which > > an application like AppleWorks can be thought of as obsolete in a > > world which uses the GUIified Word and Excel and (god forbid) > > PowerPoint. It doesn't matter whether classes which teach with > > AppleWorks focus on general skills, whereas the more modern labs > > would be used to teach Word (in particular), because that isn't > > what industry uses. > > > > Even in the more general case of educational software (ie. stuff > > designed to teach), you would be hard pressed to fight this notion > > that progress flows in one direction. For example, Raskin argued > > in a recent interview: > > > > The quest for CPU power has been largely defeated by bloated > > software in applications and operating systems. Some programs > > I wrote in Basic on an Apple II ran faster than when written > > in a modern language on a G4 Dual-processor Mac with hardware > > 1,000 times faster. > > > > (see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0%2C3605%2C1331536%2C00.html) > > > > In other words, modern technology doesn't necessarily offer better > > software. I would imagine that this is particularly true in > > education, seeming as advances depend upon a better understanding > > of human psychology than pushing bits around a machine. Unless, > > of course, you're one of those people who believe that educators > > must entertain students. IMHO, they are confusing entertain with > > maintaining the interest of. > > > > Of course, if the objective is to entertain, you are stuck with > > following each fad. This is because something which was effective > > at one point of time, because of its novelty, isn't necessarily > > going to be effective to the next batch of students, because it > > lost its novelty. > > > > Byron. > > > > -- > Apple2list is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... > > / Buy books, CDs, videos, and more from Amazon.com \ > / <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/lowendmac> \ > > Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> > > Apple2list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/apple2.html> > --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; > Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/apple2list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> > > Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com > > -- Apple2list is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... / Buy books, CDs, videos, and more from Amazon.com \ / <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/lowendmac> \ Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Apple2list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/apple2.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/apple2list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
