What is the research regarding the idea that there is a fixed percentage of the world's population that might grow up to be programmers? As a member of that small percentage it's sometimes nice to hear that I'm a genetic winner, but I also have an interest in education and (although not a teacher) my hope is that people are capable of learning almost any skill, given the right attitude and environment. Would be interested but saddened to hear otherwise.
That said, I'm also not a fan of the various eduware as standalone solution. For most tech people there's an intuitive, "I grew up with PCs, therefore I became a programmer", but scratching a little deeper there are usually role models and good infrastructure and free time to experiment etc. Fritz On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 9:05 AM, ashish makani <ashish.makani at gmail.com>wrote: > Yet, i think you are going down the wrong path in your overall goal. > It should not be to try and create a new cadre of programmers. That's > not going to happen. There are only x amount of potential programmers > that exist in the world's children, where X is a very small > percentage. Showering the world with Pi's will not magically increase > that number, just as showering the world with play doctor kits will > not magically create more doctors. > > > 4. From an Indian perspective, i wish the Indian govt scraps the > crappy Aakash tablet in favour of the XO3. > > > Actually, the Aakash has a lot going for it on the technology side: > > http://www.ictworks.org/news/2012/01/23/47-aakash-android-tablet-will-revolutionize-internet-access > > But if you want to put it or the OLPC into education, well, you'll > fail with both as you are thinking hardware is the solution, as I > explained here: > http://wayan.com/ict4d/the-35-aakash-tablet-olpc.html > > Or as Richard Rowe explains here: > > https://edutechdebate.org/creating-electronic-educational-content/we-need-a-three-legged-stool/ > > > The XO3 comes with 802.11b/g &s(mesh) & the concept of school servers, > so kids can download learning content even if access to the larger > public Internet is not available. > > Aakash has GPRS( much slower) & RPi supports wired ethernet & USB Wifi > dongles. > > Both of these points are irrelevant. It doesn't matter if one > connects via shoe strings and tin cans and the other is on fiber. > > What actually matters is a trained and motivated teacher, empowered > with relevant and engaging content, able to have personalized > interactions with an attentive and excited student. ICT like the Pi, > XO, or Aakash, can play a facilitative role in this interaction - but > just that. The key is still wetware - humans, not hardware. > > > Wayan > > -- > > ............................................................... > > Wayan Vota > Senior Director > Inveneo: http://inveneo.org > > Email: wayan at inveneo.org > Mobile: +1.202.746.8269 > Skype/Yahoo IM: wayan_vota > > ............................................................... > > > Start your day with ICTworks > http://www.ictworks.org > > > } > > On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 10:10 PM, Rahul Banerjee > <banerjee at cs.washington.edu> wrote: > > (not spamming everybody, since I'm not really adding anything that > > hasn't already been said before) > > > > @Yaw: I remember starting the "Aakash" thread and this is the same > > thing all over again. > > > > @Manish: Good points, and ultimately, it is the supporting ecosystem > > around the product (availability/subsidy, support, tutoring/mentoring, > > specially-designed curriculum) that will decide how successful it is > > in helping improve underprivileged/needy kids' future. Personally > > speaking, I want one of those -- it looks like an awesome platform for > > hobbyists/DIY'ers! > > > > > > -- > > Rahul > > > > On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 9:01 PM, Yaw Anokwa <yanokwa at cs.washington.edu> > wrote: > >> Ashish, > >> > >> I don't think it's because of the lack of a powerful GPU that schools > >> in low-income areas are failing. I also don't think the ubiquity of > >> computing devices translates to everyone learning how to tinker and > >> becoming programmers. > >> > >> I do think you hinted at the real problems. How does one impart a > >> sense of curiosity and a love of learning to a child? How do we > >> generate relevant (and language-specific) content that provably > >> educates students at scale? We can barely do all that in the West with > >> all the money and technology we have, so how can we do it in a rural > >> school in India where we have yet to solve teacher absenteeism? > >> > >> Don't get me wrong. I love to think big, I love technology, and I'm > >> optimistic that we can have some impact on the problems the world > >> faces, but let's pick the right problem to solve and not get ahead of > >> ourselves. From television to the Simputer, history is littered with > >> educational technologies with infinite promise and zero impact on > >> changing the fortunes of the poor. > >> > >> https://edutechdebate.org has lots of resources that do this topic > >> justice. Might be a good place for those interested in this problem to > >> start looking... > >> > >> Yaw > >> > >> On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 05:20, ashish makani <ashish.makani at gmail.com> > wrote: > >>> Hi Folks > >>> > >>> Just came across news, that Raspberry Pi GPU outperforms iphone 4s's > >>> gpu by 2x & also outperforms Nvidia's Tegra2. > >>> > >>> > http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-raspberry-pi-gpu-outperforms-iphone-4s > >>> > >>> This device has amazing potential to create low-cost PCs for children > >>> in the developing world & encourage programming the world over. > >>> > >>> Detailed interview with Eben Upton, RPi's executive director (free > >>> registration required) > >>> > http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/digitalfoundry-inside-raspberry-pi > >>> > >>> I am curious to know what other people think of XO3 vs Raspberry Pi Vs > >>> Aakash (the Indian govt.'s low cost tablet) > >>> > >>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8428147.stm > >>> > http://asia.cnet.com/what-can-we-learn-from-the-olpc-xo-3-0-tablet-62213156.htm > >>> > >>> 1. Raspberry Pi(RPi) requires monitor + mouse +k/b while XO3 is > self-contained. > >>> 2. RPi is more geared to be a lab machine or a home pc while XO3 is > >>> more of a personal device. > >>> > >>> 3. From a pedagogical viewpoint, IMHO, i think younger kids should not > >>> have a digital device 24x& as they can get "addicted" to it . It is > >>> more important to impart a sense of curiosity & learning, & having an > >>> XO3 might hamper other social activities - going outdoors & playing > >>> with other kids. > >>> > >>> So i feel younger kids could be exposed to low-cost computers( made of > >>> a RP hi) in school, which are low cost & encourage tinkering (open > >>> source, simple inexpensive hw) > >>> while elder (say high school kids can get their own personal XO3 > >>> > >>> 4. From an Indian perspective, i wish the Indian govt scraps the > >>> crappy Aakash tablet in favour of the XO3. > >>> > >>> > http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/01/08/the-inside-story-of-indias-50-computer-tablet/ > >>> > http://phonemantra.com/2012/01/olpc-india-head-rips-into-aakash-calls-it-pre-beta-and-questions-its-indian-ness/ > >>> > >>> The vast majority of schools in India are run by the govt & most govt. > >>> schools dont have a computer lab or the computers:students ratio is > >>> abysmal > >>> > >>> 5. Internet connectivity > >>> > >>> http://laptop.org/en/laptop/hardware/specs.shtml > >>> http://www.raspberrypi.org/faqs > >>> http://www.akashtablet.com/ > >>> > >>> The XO3 comes with 802.11b/g &s(mesh) & the concept of school servers, > >>> so kids can download learning content even if access to the larger > >>> public Internet is not available. > >>> > >>> Aakash has GPRS( much slower) & RPi supports wired ethernet & USB > Wifi dongles. > >>> > >>> Exciting times ahead for sure & would love to hear from other people. > >>> > >>> cheers > >>> ashish > >>> _______________________________________________ > >>> change mailing list > >>> change at change.washington.edu > >>> http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> change mailing list > >> change at change.washington.edu > >> http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > > _______________________________________________ > change mailing list > change at change.washington.edu > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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