On Mon, May 17, 2010 at 05:25, Jan Visser <[email protected]> wrote: > > Ed, you wrote, in response to the assertion that "Printed material is of > greater value to a participant because she can take it home" the following: > "That is true without one-to-one, 24/7 computing. With it, software is of > greater value to children than textbooks, because it includes multimedia, is > of much greater capacity, and can be provided at no cost and with the freedom > to modify it and share the results. In addition, computers and software are > now essential subjects for schools. Not so-called "Computer Literacy" but > computer mastery."
Obviously I disagree. I have joined TWB, and will see about raising these issues with members. I will respond further to the points you raise here. > I beg to differ with both positions. Your claim, I think, is assuming too > much for the moment as far as the potential impact of computing technology is > concerned, and I am saying so inspired by the more than 40 years I've been > working (and living for more than half that time) in countries deprived of > even the most basic resources like, in the school context, something that > could function as a blackboard and a piece of chalk, or even a decent piece > of stone or wood to sit on while in class (not necessarily under a roof or > complemented with something that could resemble a desk), let alone materials > with which to engage in collaborative activities with one's fellow learners > for, say, the purpose of exploring and understanding the workings of nature. > Doing one's homework at home may be less dependent on having a computer or a > book than on having the kind of home that minimally resembles the dwellings > you and I live in (not to speak of the homes of the likes of Schwarzenegger, > McChrystal and McCain) and particularly on having economic conditions that > don't put you as a child in charge of all kinds of tasks that must > necessarily be performed to sustain the life of the family and that heavily > interfere with fruitful participation in a regular school environment. > > > > Of course, I'm all for the great and important things you and others are > pursuing, but I'm afraid there are no silver bullets. The solutions to > improving the quality of human learning around the world in diverse > circumstances and multiple cultural contexts are complex because learning is > a complex phenomenon. One-to-one computing is possibly part of the solution > to reshaping the learning landscape, enabling all to learn, but so are books, > TWB, WE and a host of other things. None of them will do the job alone and > much will depend on co-evolving contextual factors. One of the important > lessons I’ve learned is that it usually stifles the creativity if we focus > too strongly on just one dimension of the problem. > > > > And, while I am at it, let's not forget that there is an enormous wealth of > learning beyond formal schooling whereas most of the efforts, including our > own in WE, continue to be inspired by the predominant school metaphor, which > is strongly rooted in the western culture of the industrial era. We really > need to broaden our thinking beyond the perspectives that follow from our > primary inclinations. > > > > I’m sorry to paint a less satisfying picture, but, with due respect to the > efforts of TWB (whose coming into being and growth I have followed since my > first contacts back in the 1990’s with its founder Fred Mednick), and fully > recognizing the valuable intentions of those involved in making one-to-one > computing a reality, as well as with deep appreciation for the work of those > engaging in producing print or screen based text and other software, I’m > afraid we are only scratching the surface of a problem that is immensely more > complex than what is imagined. > > > > Jan > > > > -- > > Jan Visser, Ph.D. > > President & Sr. Researcher, Learning Development Institute > > E-mail: [email protected] > > Check out: http://www.learndev.org and http://www.facebook.com/learndev > > Blog: http://jvisser-ldi.blogspot.com/ > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Edward Cherlin > Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2010 11:10 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [WikiEducator] Re: Teachers Without Borders (TWB) > > > > On Sat, May 15, 2010 at 12:56, Vtaylor <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Hello Edward > > > > > > We were not sure exactly what you were asking. If this doesn't answer > > > your question, let's talk further. > > > > Let's, whether in this mailing list or offline. I'm talking about the > > coming wave of one-to-one computing in schools, now that netbook > > computers cost less than textbooks. See, for example, the resources > > listed at > > > > http://www.librarianchick.com/ The most complete listing > > http://www.clrn.org/fdti/ Math and Science texts for CA > > http://www.flossmanuals.net/ Free Software manuals, and how to use Free > Software > > > > I am one of the co-authors of How to Bypass Internet Censorship at > > FLOSS Manuals. It has become available in Russian, Chinese, Farsi, and > > other relevant languages. I am currently writing an introduction to > > the Sugar software for the OLPC XO, now available for most other > > computers., and trying to organize a project to create free textbooks > > for every school subject in every grade for every country in the > > world. We believe that there are major funding opportunities available > > from the US Dept. of Education and various international sources. One > > of the projects at county level in the US tells me that it has a team > > of grant writers it can call on. > > > > Gov. Schwarzenegger in California is sold on the idea of free digital > textbooks > > > > http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/blog/issue/20090608-arnold-text-blog-textbooks/ > > > > and Gen. McChrystal in Afghanistan seems to be a recent convert. Sen. > > John McCain also sees one-to-one computing in education as an > > important anti-insurgent tool. It also will allow girls to learn at > > home in areas where the Taliban tries to interfere with the public > > school system. > > > > http://blog.laptop.org/2010/05/15/on-afghanistan-2/ > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiouslee/sets/72157622267805539/ > > > > > All the TWB course materials are available online. > > > http://courses.teacherswithoutborders.org/ > > > > > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. > > > http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ > > > > Perfect. > > > > > The TWB Certificate of Teaching Mastery is being added to WikiEducator > > > http://wikieducator.org/Teachers_Without_Borders/Certificate_of_Teaching_Mastery > > > > > > For face-to-face training, these are distributed to participants in > > > paper format. > > > > > > I passed along your question to Konrad Glogowski, TWB Program > > > Director. Here is Konrad's reply - > > > > > > Do you mean our current offline programs? That would translate into > > > providing all participants with laptops, > > > > Exactly. That is why I am talking about one-to-one computing, where > > the student gets to take the computer home to use on homework and in > > family activities. We find that students from subsistence economies > > are helping their parents increase their incomes. > > > > > which would require quite a bit of funding. > > > > When we get the promised $75 laptops, > > (http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/olpc-spin-off-plans-75-laptop/) it > > will come to $20 billion annually for the billion or so children in > > the whole world, plus the cost of installing renewable electricity and > > broadband Internet out to the poorest and remote villages. This > > assumes a replacement cycle of four years for the laptops. The > > electrical and wireless communications systems will last much longer. > > We can expect trillions of dollars of increased economic activity as a > > result, and we have the opportunity to educate the next generation on > > sustainability, among other things. > > > > > Printed material is of greater value to a participant > > > because she can take it home. > > > > That is true without one-to-one, 24/7 computing. With it, software is > > of greater value to children than textbooks, because it includes > > multimedia, is of much greater capacity, and can be provided at no > > cost and with the freedom to modify it and share the results. In > > addition, computers and software are now essential subjects for > > schools. Not so-called "Computer Literacy" but computer mastery. > > > > I would love to have this conversation with all of your members who > > are interested, and to help you set up a program to address these > > issues, needs, and opportunities. > > > > > - Konrad > > > > > > > > > > > > Konrad Glogowski, Ph.D. > > > Program Director > > > http://teacherswithoutborders.org > > > http://twitter.com/teachersnetwork > > > Skype: teachandlearn > > > Teachers. Leaders. Worldwide > > > > > > o (206) 623-0394, ext. 9 | f (206)-623-0396 | m (647) 200-1528 > > > > > > > > > On May 14, 8:36 pm, Edward Cherlin <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> Does TWB have any interest in replacing printed textbooks with free > > >> software and content? > > >> > > >> -- > > >> Edward Mokurai (默雷/धर्ममेघशब्दगर्ज/دھرممیگھشبدگر ج) Cherlin > > >> Silent Thunder is my name, and Children are my nation. > > >> The Cosmos is my dwelling place, the Truth my > >> destination.http://www.earthtreasury.org/ > > >> > > > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > > Groups "WikiEducator" group. > > > To visit wikieducator: http://www.wikieducator.org > > > To visit the discussion forum: http://groups.google.com/group/wikieducator > > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > [email protected] > > > > > > > > -- > > Edward Mokurai (默雷/धर्ममेघशब्दगर्ज/دھرممیگھشبدگر ج) Cherlin > > Silent Thunder is my name, and Children are my nation. > > The Cosmos is my dwelling place, the Truth my destination. > > http://www.earthtreasury.org/ > > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > Groups "WikiEducator" group. > > To visit wikieducator: http://www.wikieducator.org > > To visit the discussion forum: http://groups.google.com/group/wikieducator > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > [email protected] > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "WikiEducator" group. > To visit wikieducator: http://www.wikieducator.org > To visit the discussion forum: http://groups.google.com/group/wikieducator > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] -- Edward Mokurai (默雷/धर्ममेघशब्दगर्ज/دھرممیگھشبدگر ج) Cherlin Silent Thunder is my name, and Children are my nation. The Cosmos is my dwelling place, the Truth my destination. http://www.earthtreasury.org/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "WikiEducator" group. To visit wikieducator: http://www.wikieducator.org To visit the discussion forum: http://groups.google.com/group/wikieducator To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]
