Better uses for 14 million dollars:
The study meant to evaluate the usefulness or effectiveness of laptop in
schools and spending 14 million dollars by DOE is reportedly a failure to
indicate the academic effectiveness.
My response as an educator, administrator, a psychotherapist and social
worker is to look around:
A. To use computers, whether desk tops or lap tops, one must have some
literacy and logical skills as well as need for it in academia especially in
school setting.
For ex. my daughter who is 11 years old, going to sixth grade, in Public
School Queens PS 111 has been on computers including getting the home work,
submitting home work or projects on computers, including book reports, writing
poetry and cutting and pasting of pictures, make it look real.
When I contrast this explosion through computers, I look back on my own life
in India growing up in an abscure village and then to Bangalore, to the Indian
Institute of Science and finally landing in US in 1988.
Up until 1988, I was awfully afraid of computers, especially the PC's and
used to think what if I do some thing and it goes wrong, who is going to pay
and obviously I did not have.
I was forced to learn computers but found as an easy switch, as I had done
both Junior and Senior typewriting in Bangalore as a student while studying at
college.
The typing skills made me easy to learn the word processing, the math
preparation helped me to think logically and remember the steps.
I still vividly remember, one of my friend, a software engineer helping me to
write the steps including switch the power one and how to go about.
It took me about 2-3 years before I gained command and so to speak some
mastery over the PC's
But my daughter on the otherhand, learnt most of these skills by exploring
herslef as we have 2 laptops and 3 computers at home for a home of 4 people,
one in each floor of the house and almost synnonymous with number of bathrooms
in the house.
Children learn quickly and need to be guided, is my conclusion. Allow them
to explore and watch that they dont do much of games or IM or emails
excessively.
B. The second conclusion is the time for any study or impact. Providing a
material thing is one thing and watching the effective use is another. This is
where the providers of laptops have to build a relation with the parents or
care givers, work for disappearence of the fear of the parents about computers.
Most parents I have spoken in therapy or family work, are afraid of computers
and children take undue advantage. Even when a parent is coming to the
computer and watch, kids are so smart that they will minimize the screen or
switch to a different screen etc.
What parents have to learn is that they need to sit with the children, same
goes with the teachers in classrooms on the effective use of computers in
classrooms.
C. Never to leave the emphasis on looking for answers in major books or look
for meaning in dictionary or other source physically, including taking them to
the library etc.
This will give the students both an interest and participation by the parent
or teacher in the academic areas.
Finally, instead of doing 14 million expenses on study of the project, I
would have appreciated the DOE to spend that money to buy some lap tops for
poorer districts or areas in Brooklyn, or elsewhere in the country and help the
process access.
Always in America we have a false image that we are rich and can look down on
other poorer countries. Instead spend the money on the people in America
itself, invest in education, housing of poor neighborhoods and provide
materials or other equipment to enhance education.
Instead of devaluing the impact, let us make these laptops more cheaper than
Game boys and Nintendos or Nino music players, so that every one has an access
and chance to be at their optimum level
VASU CHIKKATUR MURTHY
1 Hoyt Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718 802 0666
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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