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AP Reports Young People Use The Internet
prostoalex writes "You read a lot of stories about older generation either adopting or having troubles with Internet. But some people in this world cannot imagine their everyday life without Internet. The kids who went to school during the early days of the Web are now going to colleges and are demanding broadband, downloading music, sharing photos and posting to Web logs, Associated Press says. Most of the everyday tasks, like homework and job search, have migrated to the Web as well. According to the latest data, 188.5 million Americans and more than 1 billion people globally are online."
Where's the news in this? A story on slashdot about the fact that there are people out there in the world who can't imagine not having net access? Look who you are talking to here...
stuff
Old people speak in complete, lucid sentences;
Yng ppl spk n br0kn sms sp3k bc its kewl bbl kthxbye.
It would be cool if it didn't suck.
I bet you'd struggle to find one in 50 who had ever even written a hello world in qbasic, one in 500 who could do the same in C
And what has that to do with a person's ability to use a computer as a teaching aid? If they're supposed to be teaching computing then sure; if they're just supposed to be *teaching*, though, and are using the computer as another tool, like exercise books and a blackboard are tools, then what does it matter? As long as they *can* use it, they should be fine.
It's official. Most of you are morons.
For the longest time, I thought that the free exchange of information that the Internet brings would ensure that good ideas get spread, and that the overall knowledge of its users would rise as a result of being exposed to better information. What seems to have happened, though, is that people who use internet got stupider. Nobody can spell anymore (it's considered 'cool' to screw up even the most orthographically simple words). Arguments on internet boards (with a few exceptions) are getting stupider, and people who would get a good spanking IRL are turning into the most obnoxious flamers. Instead of using the vast amounts of information available to them to reexamine their views, people seek out only the articles and sites which support their already cemented opinions, with little regard to critical thought.
Sadly, it seems that, while the Internet was ready to face the challenges of global information exchange 20 years ago, we are not nearly at that stage yet. Simply providing the tools hasn't helped the society as a whole to improve our level of communication, or to expand our knowledge through the availability of information (fringe groups like scientists excluded). Because of this reason, I'm wondering whether Internet in schools will serve the purpose I originally believed it would serve, or if it will simply produce a new army of AOL and MSN Messenger trolls.
It's the same as driving a car, but not having the faintest idea how to fill up the tank or washer fluid, or to check the oil etc. If a person knows how a device works then they are less likely to have a problem using it or to be afraid of it.
no it's not. Checking the oil, filling up with gas etc would be more analogous(sp?) to clearing out temp files, keeping the computer patched, knowing not to run exe files from the untrusted sources, that kind of thing.
Being able to program simple files would be something like changing a spark plug, changing the filters etc. Something that you can do with a little bit of understanding, but really something that most people leave to the mechanic when they get the car serviced.
Users are not programmers. That's why programmers have jobs.
You don't have to know how to internal combustion works (or even what it is) to change your oil and maintain your car.
my password really is 'stinkypants'
While I agree in spirit with what you've said, it's worth noting that for computers to effectively be used in the classroom, we're asking a lot of our teachers. In my mind, for a school to justify using a computer in the classroom as a teaching aid, a teacher has to be comfortable with the tech, realize that a computer crashing isn't the end of the world, and then come up with innovative ways to use a computer, so it's not just a glorified blackboard. In my experience teaching, most schools (K-12) are still at the point where computers (and more tech oriented stuff in general) are just sort of gee-whiz devices, with lots of bells and whistles.
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There's definitely still a lot of entrenched teachers who are thinking "Why bother?" when it comes to computers, as there may be relucatnace to learn something new, and also the benefits from bothering to learn it are slim to none - i.e. they've been teaching for 20 years, and it's worked so far, why switch now?
Part of me thinks it's going to take a killer app of sorts for computers to really take off as learning tools - classroom management you already see them being used (worksheets, networked grade programs, e-mail, etc), but as teaching devices, they're not quite there . .
Anyway, to get back to the original "hello world" example, teachers who can do that, are going to be more likely to take risks and experiment using the technology in the classroom, than the teacher who all they can do is use the internet and office apps. So, there is definitely some benefit to having teachers who are traditional hackers of sorts . . . though it's disappointing sometimes to realize how few teachers are like this . . .
There are some other faults with the networked/digital classroom.
Powerpoint. I swear, PPT presentations make me more ignorant of the material. Professors just go wild with them, adding little obnoxious photos and animated borders, yet the entire "presentation" is about a page of text. Worse, most profs seem to do this for the sake of technology, as if having a projector in the room means they have no choice but to make useless powerpoint presentations.
Some even abuse it, treating powerpoint as their personal publishing house with terrible results. There's a reason why they won't publish your textbook, ya know.
The digital campus gets a bit ironic in a way when students have to print out all these files from various locations thus getting even farther away from the so-called paperless solution.
When I first went to school we had books, lectures, notes, and labs (depending on the class). Now I have to print out all sorts of powerpoints, which are considered notes, take notes on the "notes," watch teaching skills fly out the window as profs just click the mouse and repeat bullet points like marketing execs, bring a laptop with me if I want to do anything productive, etc.
I'm sure there's a good middle ground, but right now it seems computers in the classroom are still in the gimmick stage. The real advatages are outside the classroom, like websites with class info, grades, etc. Inside, its a mess.