Virginia Tech's L2Ork, the world's first Linux-based laptop orchestra. With its affordable design and support from the Linux community, L2Ork hopes to bring laptop orchestras to K-12 education and beyond.
Please read through the comments for perspectives. And try to site back and imagine their perspective. We're going to be inherently biased about this one
How young is TOO young to get technology in front of children? Baby Einstein DVDs are used as early as a few weeks old to "babysit" (entertain, soothe, and occupy) a baby - is the tablet just the newest "babysitter" on the market?
That's WAY too young to "babysit". We have been learning in Joe's class this week that parents using media as a means of parental substitution can have deleterious effects on a child's emotional development and ability to internalize good media messages and reject dangerous media messages. Giving babies tablets when they are that young reeks of lazy parenting, in my opinion. Unless the tablet becomes that "Transitional Object" that we are reading about in Turkle/Resnick's class....Gotta love when all of the class readings converge into similar ideas!
Here is an entertaining talk about how everyday objects can be used for science education.
We are all aware / starting to better appreciate that "it definitely ain't about the technology", but what conceptual understanding the technology can effect.
Personally, I see two advantages of such low cost technologies:
1. They increase access to interesting learning materials for all - quickly.
2. They can serve as the kernels of ideas for influencing emerging technologies.
( Like in out class discussion : models are still expensive but they can guide / inspie
Do share your thoughts.
There's an emerging "app gap" in which affluent children are likely to use mobile educational games while those in low-income families are the most likely to have televisions in their bedrooms. Parents are increasingly allowing their young children to use IPads and IPhones apps for learning and entertaining.