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We could increase the productivity of humanity in fabulous ways if we all knew how to use computers efficiently. Instead, we go the other way and only use them

by devcpp 13y ago

We could increase the productivity of humanity in fabulous ways if we all knew how to use computers efficiently. Instead, we go the other way and only use them as entertainment platforms. Too bad education doesn't make big money.

mgkimsal 13y ago
Education does make big money (pearson), it's just generally people don't have a choice - they're not spending their 'disposable' income on it.
saidajigumi 13y ago
> We could increase the productivity of humanity in fabulous ways if we all knew how to use computers efficiently. I'll argue that's not the problem. The problem is more of nurturing a social culture of continuous learning and creation. How many of us knew folks when we were in school who just couldn't wait "to be done with school forever"? How did that travesty, a vast failing of human education, come to pass? It's easy to be elitist and point to those of us who dodged the bullets as being "superior" or "smarter" or whatever, but I've also witnessed too many occasions where good environments, mentors, teachers, etc. lit the spark in learners who might otherwise have been judged unremarkable. I've also seen (and apparently there are now studies on) the positive skill effect of having access to computers-as-making-devices as a kid can have. IIRC, this relates to a substantial part of the successes that Harvey Mudd College is having in bringing more women into computing programs[1]. In short, changing education to embrace students who didn't have "deep" access to computers prior to college is helping to close the gender gap. Mobile or no, I'll ask: do children have sufficient access, role-models, and mentors regarding computers (mobile or no) as tools of creation? What does the changing profile of computer use in the mobile era imply for education towards computing-enabled professions? [1] http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/05/01/178810710/How-One-College-Is-Closing-The-Tech-Gender-Gap http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/05/01/178810...

by devcpp 13y ago

mgkimsal 13y ago

Education does make big money (pearson), it's just generally people don't have a choice - they're not spending their 'disposable' income on it.

saidajigumi 13y ago

> We could increase the productivity of humanity in fabulous ways if we all knew how to use computers efficiently. I'll argue that's not the problem. The problem is more of nurturing a social culture of continuous learning and creation. How many of us knew folks when we were in school who just couldn't wait "to be done with school forever"? How did that travesty, a vast failing of human education, come to pass? It's easy to be elitist and point to those of us who dodged the bullets as being "superior" or "smarter" or whatever, but I've also witnessed too many occasions where good environments, mentors, teachers, etc. lit the spark in learners who might otherwise have been judged unremarkable. I've also seen (and apparently there are now studies on) the positive skill effect of having access to computers-as-making-devices as a kid can have. IIRC, this relates to a substantial part of the successes that Harvey Mudd College is having in bringing more women into computing programs[1]. In short, changing education to embrace students who didn't have "deep" access to computers prior to college is helping to close the gender gap. Mobile or no, I'll ask: do children have sufficient access, role-models, and mentors regarding computers (mobile or no) as tools of creation? What does the changing profile of computer use in the mobile era imply for education towards computing-enabled professions? [1] http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/05/01/178810710/How-One-College-Is-Closing-The-Tech-Gender-Gap http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/05/01/178810...