Why know anything if you know how to know everything? Kids need to know how to type, fast. They need to know how to read, fast. That means they will build lot of neural connections just from seeing all that information. How sophisticated or banal the information is could be an issue. Whether most of it gets reduced to the lowest common denominator, social, ego directed rather than something deeper. But maybe 'groupthink' is the next evolutionary step But it's going to be different and it can't be stopped anymore than my grand-parents could stop rock and roll. Possibility: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/08/vbs.singularity.kurzweil/index.html
I went to a seminar recently on the subject of modern media on children. Here's a summary: The vast amount of information and medium for receiving the information has allowed kids to quickly multitask and the ability to know how to look for information. The trade is that kids are having problems concentrating on one subject for a long period of time. For example, they are learning how to read webpage length stories while simultaneously pulling up other websites... i.e. dictionary, Wikipedia to check facts. But, a book 300 pages long is difficult for them. This is a tradeoff that can be both bad and good. On one had, they are better at multitasking. On the other, their attention span is shorten and follow-through on a task takes a hit.
Problem w/ computer is it open a pandora box of exposure to all kind of stuff they not mature to handle which can have negative consequences on psychological, emotional and moral development. Ask any public school teacher they'll tell you #1 problem is discipline. So the problem nowadays is it's not the lack of information, it what they choose to do with it. Most of them have smart phone, laptop at disposal but few have the desire and discipline to be successful.
Some of these arguments against computers are a bit silly. Calculators made the abacus and slide rule extinct, people were bemoaning that back in the day - talking about how kids would grow up not knowing how to do math. Television rots your brain....but the film projector and later TVs on rolling carts became a classroom staple. All in all, the education kids (can) walk away with today versus 1940 is staggering. (note - I'm not delving into arguments about the ones left behind....but there was a good percentage back then that never learned how to read either). 1) Textbooks almost have to be replaced by ereaders/tablets. The longterm cost savings alone make it inevitable. 2) Taking notes is borderline obsolete. In my own graduate studies, I found it immensely helpful for electronic notes and outlines to be distributed, so that I could pay better attention to what the instructor was lecturing on, instead of madly trying to scribble down shorthand dictation and figures as he went. 3) Computer skills today are almost fundamental as a basic job skill. Go ahead and try and argue that cursive handwriting is still relevant. I'd be happy to know my son would get intro courses on Word, Excel, Powerpoint, let alone programming as an elective. If other schools want to stick with a traditional method, that's fine. Choice and diversity are never a bad thing.
All 95% of the world needs a computer for is to do email, browse the Web, etc. They don't need to know about bits and bytes, C#, Crossfire, overclocking, etc. Want proof? Look at the popularity of tablets. "Using a computer" has nothing to do with knowing how it works, building it, or repairing it. Most office workers do fine with knowing basic Excel, Word, and Outlook. What is your definition of "how to use a computer"?
That's like saying one knows how to add and subtract, and then claiming that they know how to do math. Maybe addition and subtraction is all they will ever need in their lives, but that doesn't change the fact that they don't know math. While I agree that a lot of people use a computer just to do the things you mentioned above, it still doesn't prove that they know how to do anything. Just my two cents. I'm also not saying you have to know how to overclock, code, and repair your computer to prove sufficient knowledge. I just don't like the idea of people being called computer whizzes because they can click two little icons, and click on their internet bookmarks.
Cathode Ray tubes are still like Science fiction to me. Electromagnetic electron beans and light emitting rare Earth elements? WOW But I can watch TV Somebody needs to have deep knowledge, some people just want to use it.
yeah, i have to agree with this....i always have people asking me for help because i "know about computers", but i only know the basics. What i know is how to google and apply what i find, if anything. it just shows how little people know about computers, despite using them for years. It's like driving a car. You know how to drive, but you dont know cars. I dont think people need to know how to rebuild an engine, or even change their break pads, but popping their hood open? How many people can't even do that? How many can't change a light bulb? Check their fluid levels?
