OK, no more chocolate cake at 10:00 PM. That aside, I had a wonderful evening last night with some really smart people. Mike Lawrence, the executive director of California’s CUE (Computer Using Educators) invited me to dinner, and we were joined by Hall Davidson and others (Scott Kinney, Coni Rechner, and others) from Discovery Educator Network. We were also joined by Michael somebody Morrison, who is a director of technology for a large school district in Southern California (not OC). And there were others.
We did something very interesting. First of all, the restaurant was Restaurant Lulu, on Folsom Street. If you look at the web page, that cake at the top of the page is why I’m up at this hour. The food was served family style, so we each ordered a dish and it was put in the middle of the table with serving utensils. All of us shared. It was delicious. What was interesting, was that periodically, people would swap seats. I didn’t, because my hearing problems force me to logistically pick my seat so that I can hear the most people around me. I stayed put. But I got to sit by six different people. I guess I haven’t been around the block very many times, because I’ve never seen this before, but it was wonderful to be able to talk with so many people, and learn so much.
I believe that Discovery Educator Network is something to pay attention to. In a time when resources are short (to non-existent), and risk taking is unheard-of, here is a company who has a mission to help people learn, has never paid attention when told, “You can’t do that.” and sincerely wants to help us do our jobs by serving us from the 21st century, not from the 19th. They’re still trying to figure that out, but they are hiring some very smart people to help them engineer something special.
Not one more time
This is a subentry and a bit of a gripe, and I may have griped about this before. But I have to say it again, that I am tired of technology educators, here in the U.S. saying, “Have you heard of the $100 laptop?” “How do we get some of these things?” “I know my PTAs would pay for them.”
The tragedy is that they have every right to be interested and excited. But look! MIT’s $100 laptop was engineered for developing countries, for people who can’t afford a computer. The United States of America is rich. We can afford to give a Toshiba or an iBook to every child, and grandparent. Our problem is not that we’re poor. Our problem is that we’re stingy!
Access to information and communication technologies in a national problem. Assuring that students and their families have access to contemporary information and the skills to use that information is not a problem of your school, or your district, or your state. It’s a national problem that, in my opinion, threatens the security of our future.
2¢ worth — and a whole lot more!
YOU GO DAVE!!!!!! Couldn’t agree more!!
Steve Dembo talks about his exciting new project with Discovery on my latest podcast…. http://blog.brettmoller.com
Brett – Great interview with Steve, listen to it last night. I have also done a recent podcast with a Discovery Educator Network twist. My podcast has an interview with Linda Chiles, the Missouri/Kansas Field Manager for DEN. Check it out at: http://www.speakingofhistory.blogspot.com I really think these guys have some great ideas on networking teachers throughout the US and the world to use some powerful resources. Thanks.
Eric Langhorst
Dave, thanks for the post. I have read about these laptops and have not given much attention to them. I have always told my class that we as a country have the ability to provide a computer w/broadband connection to every home if we wanted to.
I can not wait to have my students get their hands on this thought and see what their response is!
Thanks
David… hmmm couldn’t disagree with you more here. There are many features to the “$100” laptop that are very attractive for school use. For one thing power in a huge laptop is a problem. These laptops are battery powered but recharching can happen manually with a crank in between periods. If you have ever managed a laptop cart you know how tricky power issues can be if you want students to use the laptops through-out the day. The other issue here is software costs. This laptop goes open source on software utilizing a linux version of “Office” which is free.
To say every childs’ parent should buy them a laptop is fine (it won’t happen but everywhere)(see article in USAToday on Fullerton USD) Managing the legalities of software and the actual machine(s) in a school district is another. The other issue is that this laptop is built with an e-book reader free again.. linux version. This is the issue.. Districts are spending a fortune in adoptions each year replacing hard cover text books constantly. If this type of solution could replace a text book then you have got something that is affordable… instead of a text book. $1,000 is not affordable.
The arguement that we all have enough money makes it sound like we shouldn’t be looking for the BEST deal possible on our purchases. If anyone can produce a $100 laptop we should be looking at it and trying to see if it fits our environment.
Here is the link for the $100 laptop. http://laptop.media.mit.edu/
They should open it up to all of us if it is possible. Make U.S. customers pay $200 and match it so that one goes to a third world country if that is the goal. $200 will still beat any laptop out there.
Mike
Mike,
Thanks for the comment. You say nothing here that I disagree with. My gripe is not with the $100 laptop, it’s with the budgetary constraints that our schools have been put under that make a $100 laptop look so appealing. It’s not the machine, it’s our belief that we can’t afford anything better.
The machine is a truly amazing piece of technology, and the folks at MIT have performed some real engineering miracles to get the power consumption down. We talked for only a short time the other evening, and I enjoyed talking and learning from you.
My main interest in the integration of technology into our classrooms is it’s use in integrating contemporary literacy into our teaching and learning. If the $100 laptop helps students to develop skills to access, use, and communicate digital and networked content, and to do so in an ethically appropriate manner, then I’m all for it. I suspect that MIT’s machine will lack the power to perform the information processing that I believe our children should be learning to do with information, but I could be wrong.
I do like your suggestion that we (the U.S.) have access to the machine, and pay more for it in order to subsidize it’s availability to developing counters. Very interesting.
Again, my problem is not the budget computer, its with a government that believes that all our children deserve is a budget education.
David,
Are you kidding. It was great to meet you. I really enjoyed talking to you and will want to hear what you have to say at the CUE conf. This subject is a bit of vaporware anyway. The computer is pretty far off from being reality and the price tag may be more than expected but it’s hard to tell. Here is a link to a movie interviewing one of the engineers… listen to how unfinished it is.
http://www.andycarvin.com/video/100laptop.mov
I guess I really misunderstood you. I am don’t think these machines would be powerful enough for some of the tasks but for others it would be perfect. I guess I am moving toward selective usage for equipment. I am still trying to figure out how Mike Lawrence got google earth on his iPod video… that was an interesting use of an iPod.
I always think a solid discussion makes me re-think issues and modify my assumptions so I really enjoy hearing what people have to say on these topics.
Mike