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Wi-Fi Woods
Mr]-[at writes "School kids in southern England have been given PDAs and pocket radios to track down and record plants and wildlife, as part of the Ambient Wood Project. The feedback has been overwhelming positive."
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I wonder how long they could have spent in the wood if it was a GBA or similar.
Like the setting for Blair Witch 2003 - Back to the Woods.
I'd love to see something like that around here if it weren't for all the booby-trapped marijuana fields everywhere. Well, in the north end of the county anyway.
I'm sure the kids won't get into the software and use this for pr0n, chat, and Internet usage... Lucky bastards...
<old man rant="1">
In my day you had to buy scrolls that were 50' long and used your own blood to write out notes, and if you died from blood loss you were a wussie! AND WEEEE LIKED IT!!!
<old man rant="0">
Business \Busi"ness\, n.;
A scam in which all people involved perceive as beneficial...
Hmm, sounds like they should turn the volume down then.
beautiful!
I know first hand, that technology in this kind of setting can be a distraction to some students. They may want to mess around with the technology rather than learning about what the teachers want the technology to teach the students. But I think this is okay, because it's okay to mess around with technology, right?
So long as the students learn *something* I see this as valuable.
Why is it that kids today get every little tech toy that us kids of yesturday have been drooling over for years? I'm 18, and yeah.. i just bought my 1st car. But those damned PDA's are prolly more expensive then my freakin car (which i got for cheap...) But seriously, laptops, pda's, etc, etc... they get it all.. I'm only 18, and i already can talk to the kids like they're all whipper snappers.... "Back when i was a youngen, we had 8bit 2D graphics on our games, and we watched in awe! And back when i was a youngin... we watched the naked titty women on Duke3D for hours, like you will on Duke Nukem Forever when your 74! (btw, why is duke nukem forever on freshmeat?)
Anything your PC can do, my console can do better!
"Ambient Wood Project" ??
Wasn't that the subtitle of "Bukake Bud's Adventure #12"?
What about the plants right to privacy? First they monitor all wildlife activity, next they will be monitoring all human activity. Mwwaa haaa haaa!!
If only they could figure out how to get flouride in the plants' water supply!
...and chemistry instead of wasting money on PDAs and WiFi? What about giving them some real knowledge and skills that may help them understand the world better and be more successful in their future lives? Isn't this the goal of education? How exactly being in the woods with a PDA supposed to improve their understanding of ecological concerns, their causes and possible remedies? How is it better than a good ol' book with a bunch of color pictures commented by a bunch of gray-haired scientists?
I can't freakin' believe some shcools are wasting money this midlessly.
Maybe they are teaching the children that life isn't just about boring book studying. They are probably teaching the children how to interact with each other and the world around them. I would hazard a guess that the children might actually enjoy a break from the classroom once in a while and it probably makes school a bit more interesting.
School doesn't have to be long training course for a job.
This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
I dunno. Technology is cheap relative to the cost of paying teachers, administrators, etc. Like it or not, technology is becoming more and more a part of our world. Pervasive technologies such as 802.11 and PDAs will continue to grow. Giving kids technology like this at a young age will only make them more comfortable with it when they are older.
Just because that's the way school was for you when you were growing up does not mean it has to be that way for kids now. Just because things are different does not mean they are worse.
Adminsitrators with the purse strings really eat that kind of thing up and it would go a long way towards justifing the expense.
A GPS unit with each child could allow the teacher with a laptop at their base to actually see where they are at all times.
Damn, why couldn't classes have been this cool when I was a youngun?
Since when did real knowledge and skills come out of a book?
Here is the Alaska woods Haiku interpretation:
Quiet I Approach
PDA Logged Bear, Suprised
Wi-Fi Bear Stool Found
>>to enable pairs of children to collaboratively discover and reflect upon new kinds of experiences in mixed reality spaces.
Didn't they use LSD for that in the 70s?
8bit 2D graphics? Luxury! When I were young we had graphics cards made from gravel. Cold gravel. And we were lucky
I'd love to write an essay "Deconstructing the quake. The semiotics and metaphysics of an outdoor wireless LAN multiplayer session in the woodland".
In Michigan we're mandated by the state to integrate technology (i.e. electronic computing devices and related software) into ALL areas of the K-12 curriculum. We had to develop our curriculum in each educational area to include technology of all types, including devices like PDAs, computers, data recording devices, etc. so this is not something brand new. The issue isn't really why they're getting technology, it's whether or not they're using it to better their skills. That said, I am 100% for teaching concepts FIRST, technology SECOND. I don't want my kids using a calculator to do their math for example, and I don't let them at home until they understand and can do it manually. I stress being able to understand the subject first, being able to spell correctly and so on, and I DO check their homework. Having said all of that, I also think it's neat to see what they can do with technology once they understand why they're doing it... :)
Have you hugged your penguin today?
Of course, 'mucking about' with PDAs and wireless is likely to inculcate precisely he kind of "knowledge and skills that may help them understand the world better and be more successful in their future lives"
Moreover being able to record data, take it back to the lab, shove it into databases etc, is the starting point for some interesting ecological logging work.
Yeah, when I was at school (we're talking early nineties) the problem with the way they taught computing was that they didn't integrate it into the rest of the curriculum, so you never actually got to use it in a real-life environment, meaning that it was impossible to learn.
So you'd have the "technology" teacher, probably with a background in woodwork, saying 'Yes, so this is a spreadsheet. Er, if you had a ny data to process, you'd see how useful it was...'
Meannwhile we're writing down all the results of our physics experimnts on a piece of soggy paper, with a biro.
The best way to teach people to use computers is surely to get them to use computers to help them with somthing they were going to do anyway, like people use computers in real life. Not only would that help persuade the more technophobic kids that computers were actually there to make their lives easier, it would help combat that "I wanna learn web design! Yeah! I want my own website! Cool! I've got my own website, now I need some content!" phenomenon.
Thanks for listening.
evil math within Nature's Cubic Creation!
This isn't funny, man! I need my fix!
Yes, but "teaching the children how to interact with each other and the world around them" is not a reason to give them PDAs! What's wrong with getting out into nature, *without* bringing along all the technotoys?
Perhaps they're having a bit of fun. Blowing the cobwebs out of the children's heads. This may be why British schoolchildren don't shoot the crap out of each other.
Going by what some of the schools I know of, since when did real knowledge and skills come out of a school! 8-)
Go permanent? In your dreams and my worst nightmares.
as you say, we're USED to having everything done to(anybody)for US. looks like that model sucks the life out of almost everybody.
so, it's either learn/do relevant stuff, or lay there dead&stinking?
trust? creator? that's the spirit?
if you decide to build a boat, try to make it so that it can stay afloat on any substance.
I honestly had no itea that PDAs had the ability to track down trees
Extended Warranty? How can I lose!
Dupe spacing is nearly reaching a week now... at least that's /something/
I didn't think PDA's were that durable though, especially in rough conditions with kids!
puts ("Python r0cks\n");
The last time I "did science" with a group of kids, we gathered data in the field, then analysed it in the classroom (using math of the statistical persuasion to do so). PDAs reporting back to base station are being used by scientists today, so the kids are getting a taste of the real thing.
There are no gophers in Sussex, Pooh, and no bears either - hang on a minute you're a bear - well no gophers anyway.
How about teaching them how to make fire and how to skin a mammoth? PDA is a tool and they use the tools to learn about ecology.
;)
Ten years ago everyone though that desktop computers and networks are unnecessary and kids should write with pencils and go to the library for information. Today we understand that it was stupid to think so, but some people now claim that PDAs and WiFi are useless.
I am sure that in 2015 another melted will grumble at children using their computer-to-brain interfaces and memory implants. That's progress, don't stand in its way.
Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
who took part in this study recently joined Indiana University that is why I am posting AC (I am getting my masters here).
The main problem I see with this experiment is that it makes the assumption that the kids will be more productive/learn more when placed in this tech ambient environment. But won't kids be just as productive if you just place them in the woods by itself? I remember when I was younger, we would love going on trips that put us outside, out of the classroom, and no ambient tech was needed to maintain our interests. All we needed was a log book, some nets, and jars!
If a bear wi-fis in the wood, does he get connected?
Last I heard, biology was a hard science as well. As are botany and zoology, two things these kids are getting a heads-up on.
Frankly, I can't think of a much better way to encourage kids to "understand the world better" than by getting them out in it and teaching them to make accurate observations. It certainly would get them off on the right foot in any science-based career.
~ Leilah
... that they're using the PDA's as log books.
They're also getting instant feedback on an identification and more information about the plant/animal they reported.
A major advantage of this is that they can get this information while still looking at the plant. This both helps connect the plant with its identification in their mind and means that if specific info is needed to determine the ID, they can do it right away.
Making the correct observations in order to try and identify something back in the lab can be extremely frustrating. Plants have a lot of parts, and often the distinguishing feature is something that you wouldn't normally think of.
Ok, so it's not as similar to a log book as I thought. It's more like a log book with an identification guide and extra information. I think that these kids will most likely be able to go into the woods without their tech and be more interested in what is in there because of this experience.
~ Leilah
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
Well, some people have learned this. Keep in mind that even some college professors won't accept references from any sort of Internet source.
Don't think Professor Sprout is going to like this too much.
It seems like a misapplication of funds to waste money on PDAs and the like, when the state of British people's teeth is so disgusting. Surely they need to get some priorities here.
Just because that's the way school was for you when you were growing up does not mean it has to be that way for kids now. Just because things are different does not mean they are worse.
I agree fully. I was 13 before I had a computer at home, a C64 with a tape drive that I bought myself. Now my youngest son tells me that his school (they live with me summers) has a kindergarden computer lab.
Of course, I think my kids are ahead of the curve with computers. They have their own linux box and I take a little time each day to teach them something about it. At 9, my oldest asked me how she could "get into computers". I was so proud.
Makes me wonder what my grandkids will have in their schools in 20 years (at least I hope it will be 20 years).
Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
See, the trick is to get them lost in the woods for three weeks, with only their native wits and their trusty PDA. Using their wits they can do things like hunt down game, build fires, and navigate using the stars and tree moss as guides. With their PDAs they can... er... um... schedule their day of hunting and fire-building.
Valuable life lesson: When push comes to shove, technology counts for jack. Sure, it's drastic. But I can't think of any other way to drive the lesson home.
You want the truthiness? You can't handle the truthiness!
It would be far more useful to me to know how to schedule my day effectively than how to hunt down game. Currently I can't do either, but I know which one would keep my boss happy.
/.
Oh well. The agle my desk is, at least he can't see me spending all morning on
evil math within Nature's Cubic Creation!
I've been interviewing teachers for a project I'm working on. Much to many teachers' frustration, it's often the parents who insist on ineffective teaching techniques. ("If it's not hard and unpleasant, then they can't be learning anything.") As a result, the best opportunities for learning are missing from most classrooms.
The phrase "giving them some real knowledge and skills" indicates a common but misguided understanding of how people learn. You can't unzip a kid's head, pour in some knowledge from the "math jug", the "Spanish jug" or whatever. Kids discover knowledge. Schools are properly places of "guided discovery" not "dispensing knowledge."
For a pretty good look at proven educational practices, click here.
Don't get me wrong. There are some schools that are equally wrong in the other direction. I don't get a comfortable feeling that the Ambient Woods Project is well-grounded, judging by their web site.
-- Skip
"Tell me, and I'll forget. Show me, and I'll understand. Involve me, and I'll remember."
-attributed variously to Confucious, Aristotle and Native Americans
"Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion has no hold on the mind."
-Plato
"An educated person is one who has gained the power of reflective attention, the power to hold problems, questions, before the mind. Without this, the mind remains at the mercy of custom and external suggestions."
-Dewey
I still think everything should start with a pencil and a blank sheet of paper. This allows the mind to grow freely without using any technological crutches. Applicability of techologies to technical problems is very limited. Sure you can draw up, say, a bridge in AutoCAD. But in order to do that you have to have some fundamental knowledge about materials, structures and their mechanical strength. There's still no computer program that can help you learn this stuff better than you would learn it with a pencil and a sheet of paper.
Well, and I think everything should start with a piece of ochre and an empty cave wall. You claim that handwriting have some magic properties that are not reproduced in computers. I would really like to see some references to research on such properties, because as it is I am not in the very least convinced.
I think that you will learn about materials, structures and their mechanical strength better through some (of course) real-life experience, some books (e-books are just fine) and a liberal dose of Pontifex. How a pencil and a sheet of paper would help, I do not know, unless, of course, you want to learn the mechanical strength of wood and graphite and want to build structures from paper...
Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
Heh. The thing is, with pencil and a sheet of paper you're not constrained by the medium. You can draw, you can write formulas, you can write as fast (or faster, if you learn stenography) as you can type. Your input device doesn't require batteries, can be used anywhere by anyone and contains just the essence of the information your teacher tried to communicate to you. For me it's an invaluable tool. Having graduated with honors using a pencil and a notebook (paper kind) I don't need to be convinced it's the best way. Best of all, even if I don't have a computer at hand, I can still do a helluvalot - design electronic circuits for example, plot graphs, solve mathematical tasks... It's fun.