Dear Friends:
There is food for thought in what the authors of these emails are saying and someone living abroad in a different culture cannot be expected to suggest better. I have schools- to- university going grandchildren in UK and elsewhere and they are steeped deep in a culture where the use of laptops (even ipods) is unavoidable. Experts say that the use of computers is harming, say, learning of mathematics at school and in universities students are becoming dependent on their computers for source material instead of going for original research in libraries.Whatever you say to the contrary computers are now integral to learning at all stages. The fact is that the alternatives suggested cannot do away with the need for computers if our education has to keep pace with the requirements of a modern society. Laptops are being manufactured in India. But I do not think in general our villagers can afford them.I doubt even parents of moderate means living in towns can do so. Then the state of electricity supply is pitiable even in Assam's capital city. Computers often break down. Computer ink is costly. There are cheap printers but these machines are not built to last. .We need an army of technicians in order to keep these laptops working if we are to give a laptop to every child. -bhuban _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
