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If you want to teach kids about hardware, wouldn't it be better to supply them with something slightly larger where they can install the CPU, RAM, etc. Perhaps
by jeza 15y ago
If you want to teach kids about hardware, wouldn't it be better to supply them with something slightly larger where they can install the CPU, RAM, etc. Perhaps supplied as a kit. At least that way they can at least identify the different components that make a computer what it is. They might also have a choice between selection different components, say a memory card vs. a small laptop hard drive, network cards, etc. As a learning tool, I think that'd be better value for $25 than a tiny USB stick sized thing. I think the fun of assembling would outweigh the coolness of being tiny.
- regularfry 15y agoMake it tiny, and you can pot the whole thing in epoxy and make it essentially indestructible. That might be important in a school environment.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- cakeface 15y agoBut then you cannot crack it open and actually see the components that make the thing run. If this is about educating kids on computers I think that it is really useful to be able to see where each part of the system lives and what it looks like.
- regularfry 15y agoI kind of doubt the utility of that with a heavily compacted system like this. I can't find any info on the chipset, but it wouldn't surprise me if the ARM SOC included the graphics driver as well, for instance.
- jeza 15y agoFor $25 a kit, there's no reason why you couldn't give one to each student (or have them buy it as part of their stationary requirements). I'm sure they're not going to destruct their own little project.
- regularfry 15y agoEither you had a significantly different educational experience to me, or your optimism is remarkable in its magnitude :-)