Computers, Education, and Children

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Computers, Education, and Children
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Why so fast?

• How long did it take for the lightbulb to be
  invented after electricity?
• Ans 35 years for industrial electricity, 60
  years for the lightbulb
• Why has the www taken a hold of us so fast?
• What were students like 20 years ago?
• Is this decade like the 60s?

3
Why is the Web different?

• Is the web different when compared to other
  media?
• Web is 2-way media.
• Are we really active participants?
• John Seely Brown As educators, we now have a
  chance to construct a medium that enables all
  young people to become engaged in their ideal way
  of learning. unlike typewriter

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How has the web affected education?

• How has the web affected your education?
• Where was it helpful, where was it overused?
• Multitasking Xerox hired 15 year olds to design
  school and workplace of the future. They all
  emphasized multitasking.
• Attention span of teens is 30 sec 5 minutes,
  matching some top managers. Maybe the decreasing
  attention span may be far from dysfunctional
  (Brown)

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How has the web affected education? (cont. 1)

• Is reading multimedia an acquired ability?
• How have TV shows and movies changed?
• Trying vs. learning
• We learn in situ, action, social vs. cognitive,
  concrete vs abstract.
• Does the web help us with tacit vs explicit?

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How has the web affected education? (cont. 2)

• Jerome Bruner You can teach people about
  physics, but not how to be a physicist. Knowledge
  of concepts, facts, frameworks, etc, does not
  make one a physicist.
• A lot of our know-how comes from community
  participation. How does the web fit in?

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How has the web affected education? (Cont. 4)

• Xerox example learning through stories instead
  of manuals.