On Tue, 2003-10-21 at 18:37, Ron Johnson wrote: > Since they can't read yet (well, he's learning), computer-as-tool > is not feasible, yet. > > When it is, I still hope that books are used as the primary > tool. Call me weird, but I found it so interesting reading > sections of the encyclopedia and dictionary, while looking for > the articles that were my real target. > > And it's just not practical to "curl up with a good computer".
Thought I would pick this point to chime in. I loved the encyclopedia set my family had while I was growing up. Amazing things were to be found in there. One of my favorite things to do was to hop from article to article via the reference/pointers at the end of each article. I would see that magical 'See Also:' at the bottom of an article, and immediately grab the other editions referenced. I would spend hours in such pursuits. It really is a shame Computers cant do that... oh wait... There is that little thing called the Internet, with wonderful(cerebral) things like: http://www.wikipedia.com , http://www.gutenberg.net . http://www.howstuffworks.com/ and http://wiredforbooks.org/kids.htm . I have read several of the Project Gutenberg ETexts on a computer screen. My four year old and I read through the Beatrix Potter books at Wired for Books; my 7 year old is reading many of the short stories on that site as well. Let's face facts here; Running jumping and general horse play 12+ hours a day is BAD, an imbalanced diet is BAD, Watching TV all day is BAD. So many things are bad, in fact, every thing can be bad. The trick is to practice and teach moderation in all things as a life habit. In my house that means we use 'Stations'. The kids go from thing to thing (whether TV or Computer, Trampoline or Climbing Tower) through out the day. We go swimming at the Y a few times a week, and Try to do at least one 'Cultural event once a month (concert/civic fair). I also Have my son correspond with at least one of his 23 cousins, 22 aunts or uncles or a grandparent once a week using email. Computers all the time is a horrid thing. But if I think my kid is going to have an easier time of doing something with a word processor, I want him to have one. If I think it is 'cool' that he uses tuxpaint for 2 hours straight one afternoon to draw precisely whats in his mind, I will cheer him on, and praise him for the artwork when he is done. Keep in mind, I seriously doubt (and truly hope) no one here is after full office suite level apps, we want to expose our kids to using a computer, experiencing information, and learning how to cope with such things. 20 years ago when I was in school, you did not need a computer. Now, I seriously doubt a child of 7 and under will be able to make it into college without a high level of comfort at a computing terminal. -- Justin Zeigler Dad, Obnoxious Jerk, and all around Human.
