5 ms·

I teach middle school programming/computer classes. I cannot wait to get my hands on one of these. Right now it's cheap enough that I can tell the parents to bu

by steverb 15y ago

I teach middle school programming/computer classes. I cannot wait to get my hands on one of these. Right now it's cheap enough that I can tell the parents to buy one for their kids without a problem, and out of pocket it for those few of my students whose parents won't be able to afford it. Then I can finally not have to deal with the full lockdown the school has on their PC lab.

xyzzyz 15y ago
What about input and display devices? Although school can afford buying some cheap keyboards, the displays are much more expensive and it's pretty hard to work without them.
- ConstantineXVI 15y ago
  I think the idea is that they're cheap enough to give to students to use at home, who can hook them up to TVs they already have
  - xyzzyz 15y ago
    Kids don't have PCs to learn, but their parents have HD TV? Is USA really like this?
    - oiuyhgthjk 15y ago
      The family have PCs - but they are running windows, and anti-virus and firewalls and their cable company internet subscription - if the kid messes them up the family is annoyed.
    - ctdonath 15y ago
      This lets the kids have their own PC to work on without any risk of screwing up the family PC, and at a trivial cost. Installing programming tools on whatever PC the parents may have is not a reliable, trivial, or consistent process. Parents will be upset if it somehow the installation screws up the home computer. And yes, for some households with limited income, they may have enough money for an HDTV _or_ a PC, but not both - and most households will have opted for the HDTV before the need for an adequate PC for classwork became an issue.
      - rcfox 15y ago
        > Parents will be upset if it somehow the installation screws up the home computer. You've understated this point. Kids should be encouraged to (educationally) do things that will screw up their computers, like attempting to build their own kernel. They shouldn't have to worry about getting beaten because mom can't play Farmville after they've been experimenting.
        ctdonath 15y ago
        Sure, just like they should be encouraged to take the family car apart and put it back together to learn about mechanical engineering. Yeah, that'll go over well. Spend the $25 on a do-what-you-want-to-it R-pi already.
      - pbhjpbhj 15y ago
        >they may have enough money for an HDTV _or_ a PC, but not both // I'd suspect for those for whom it is genuinely a choice they could opt for a second hand TV and second hand PC instead and afford both. Getting hold of a PC if you really want one seems to be quite easy, even in my poor city¹ (we have things like shampoo on our Freecycle, I kid you not, single bottle) there are quite a few opportunities to get a full computer for free ... but you'll have to accept an old model (oh noes!). That said how does this all fit in to the stats I keep seeing that say computer use in school doesn't improve grades. Would love me some RaspberryPi however. -- 1 - relative to the wealthy developed country I live in
        regularfry 15y ago
        > That said how does this all fit in to the stats I keep seeing that say computer use in school doesn't improve grades. Unless those grades are in computing, they aren't really relevant to this project.
    - portman 15y ago
      The penetration rate between HDTVs and PCs are close. But just because there is a PC in the home, doesn't mean the kid can use it to learn (i.e. it may be a single PC for the whole family to use). 2010 HDTV US home penetration: 65% [1] 2006 PC US home penetration: 73% [2] [1] http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2010/05/03/daily61.html http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2010/05/03/dai... [2] http://www.zdnet.com/blog/itfacts/us-pc-penetration-is-at-734/12228 http://www.zdnet.com/blog/itfacts/us-pc-penetration-is-at-73...
    - ConstantineXVI 15y ago
      1) It's got RCA outputs also; explicitly so it'll work with /any/ TV, including the 10-year old junker you picked up at a yardsale for $25. 2) As also noted below, the goal of this project is to produce a computer for children to learn about the computer itself. The low cost (presuming the parents are even buying it directly) means kids will be able to have their way with it without worrying about wrecking the family computer.
- steverb 15y ago
  True, but I can get my hands on HDMI -> DVI converters. Used small LCDs are unbelievably cheap if you watch for surplus auctions (and are willing to buy a pallet of 25).
  - chopsueyar 15y ago
    Where/how do you find a pallet of cheap LCD monitors?
    - kylewpppd 15y ago
      GovDeals.com is a good place to start: http://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.CatSearch&mycat=29 http://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.CatSearch&myca...
ineedtosleep 15y ago
If you do proceed with this, would you mind giving us updates? I'm curious how this would work and what the reactions would be. Also, a question: How would you explain/handle the security implications (to the children and/or parents)? Is it something that can simply be handled with, "Here is the list software they'll be running -- This will stop them from using Facebook in class, etc.." or am I just making this too complicated?
- ConstantineXVI 15y ago
  The $25 model (which they describe as being aimed at education) doesn't have any built-in networking; so the only reason to be concerned about security is if they get a hold of a NIC and figure out how to connect it to a network (at which point they probably deserve bonus points :)
chubs 15y ago
You, sir, are a linchpin. If all teachers had your passion, what a future we'd have. Keep it up.
- steverb 15y ago
  Thanks, but I'm technically not a teacher. I started this last year in my kids school because they had computer classes and were only learning how to use Open Office. I realize they will need those skills, but I figured that I could at least give them some exposure to the joy of hacking/programming. Volunteer dad...activate!

by steverb 15y ago

xyzzyz 15y ago

What about input and display devices? Although school can afford buying some cheap keyboards, the displays are much more expensive and it's pretty hard to work without them.

ConstantineXVI 15y ago
I think the idea is that they're cheap enough to give to students to use at home, who can hook them up to TVs they already have
- xyzzyz 15y ago
  Kids don't have PCs to learn, but their parents have HD TV? Is USA really like this?
  - oiuyhgthjk 15y ago
    The family have PCs - but they are running windows, and anti-virus and firewalls and their cable company internet subscription - if the kid messes them up the family is annoyed.
  - ctdonath 15y ago
    This lets the kids have their own PC to work on without any risk of screwing up the family PC, and at a trivial cost. Installing programming tools on whatever PC the parents may have is not a reliable, trivial, or consistent process. Parents will be upset if it somehow the installation screws up the home computer. And yes, for some households with limited income, they may have enough money for an HDTV _or_ a PC, but not both - and most households will have opted for the HDTV before the need for an adequate PC for classwork became an issue.
    - rcfox 15y ago
      > Parents will be upset if it somehow the installation screws up the home computer. You've understated this point. Kids should be encouraged to (educationally) do things that will screw up their computers, like attempting to build their own kernel. They shouldn't have to worry about getting beaten because mom can't play Farmville after they've been experimenting.
      - ctdonath 15y ago
        Sure, just like they should be encouraged to take the family car apart and put it back together to learn about mechanical engineering. Yeah, that'll go over well. Spend the $25 on a do-what-you-want-to-it R-pi already.
    - pbhjpbhj 15y ago
      >they may have enough money for an HDTV _or_ a PC, but not both // I'd suspect for those for whom it is genuinely a choice they could opt for a second hand TV and second hand PC instead and afford both. Getting hold of a PC if you really want one seems to be quite easy, even in my poor city¹ (we have things like shampoo on our Freecycle, I kid you not, single bottle) there are quite a few opportunities to get a full computer for free ... but you'll have to accept an old model (oh noes!). That said how does this all fit in to the stats I keep seeing that say computer use in school doesn't improve grades. Would love me some RaspberryPi however. -- 1 - relative to the wealthy developed country I live in
      - regularfry 15y ago
        > That said how does this all fit in to the stats I keep seeing that say computer use in school doesn't improve grades. Unless those grades are in computing, they aren't really relevant to this project.
  - portman 15y ago
    The penetration rate between HDTVs and PCs are close. But just because there is a PC in the home, doesn't mean the kid can use it to learn (i.e. it may be a single PC for the whole family to use). 2010 HDTV US home penetration: 65% [1] 2006 PC US home penetration: 73% [2] [1] http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2010/05/03/daily61.html http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2010/05/03/dai... [2] http://www.zdnet.com/blog/itfacts/us-pc-penetration-is-at-734/12228 http://www.zdnet.com/blog/itfacts/us-pc-penetration-is-at-73...
  - ConstantineXVI 15y ago
    1) It's got RCA outputs also; explicitly so it'll work with /any/ TV, including the 10-year old junker you picked up at a yardsale for $25. 2) As also noted below, the goal of this project is to produce a computer for children to learn about the computer itself. The low cost (presuming the parents are even buying it directly) means kids will be able to have their way with it without worrying about wrecking the family computer.
steverb 15y ago
True, but I can get my hands on HDMI -> DVI converters. Used small LCDs are unbelievably cheap if you watch for surplus auctions (and are willing to buy a pallet of 25).
- chopsueyar 15y ago
  Where/how do you find a pallet of cheap LCD monitors?
  - kylewpppd 15y ago
    GovDeals.com is a good place to start: http://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.CatSearch&mycat=29 http://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.CatSearch&myca...

ineedtosleep 15y ago

If you do proceed with this, would you mind giving us updates? I'm curious how this would work and what the reactions would be. Also, a question: How would you explain/handle the security implications (to the children and/or parents)? Is it something that can simply be handled with, "Here is the list software they'll be running -- This will stop them from using Facebook in class, etc.." or am I just making this too complicated?

ConstantineXVI 15y ago
The $25 model (which they describe as being aimed at education) doesn't have any built-in networking; so the only reason to be concerned about security is if they get a hold of a NIC and figure out how to connect it to a network (at which point they probably deserve bonus points :)

chubs 15y ago

You, sir, are a linchpin. If all teachers had your passion, what a future we'd have. Keep it up.

steverb 15y ago
Thanks, but I'm technically not a teacher. I started this last year in my kids school because they had computer classes and were only learning how to use Open Office. I realize they will need those skills, but I figured that I could at least give them some exposure to the joy of hacking/programming. Volunteer dad...activate!