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PBS Bets $3 Million That Monkeys Are Better CS Preschool Teachers Than Rabbits (edsurge.com)
theodp writes: EdSurge reports that a new PBS show will teach preschoolers how to think like computers. Marisa Wolsky, an executive producer at WGBH Boston, believes television can be a way to teach Computational Thinking. She is in the first stages of creating an animated television show called Monkeying Around [$3,000,000 NSF award] that uses four monkeys to teach the subject. Why monkeys? EdSurge explains, "Initially, Wolsky said her team wanted to use rabbits to teach the kids, but after realizing the animal would need to use its hands, they decided to go with monkeys [Rabbits historically enjoyed success teaching the 3 R's]." In a press release announcing the new pre-K show, WGBH cited "a great deal of national interest in computer science and coding," adding that "it is never too early to start." WGBH is not the only PBS station that's bullish on CS. According to an NSF Award Abstract, "Twin Cities PBS (TPT), the National Girls Collaborative (NGC) and [tech-bankrolled] Code.org will lead Code: SciGirls! Media to Engage Girls in Computing Pathways, a three-year [$2.63 million] project designed to engage 8-13 year-old girls in coding through transmedia programming which inspires and prepares them for future computer science studies and career paths [...] Drawing on narrative transportation theory and character identification theory, TPT will commission two exploratory knowledge-building studies to investigate: To what extent and how do the narrative formats of the Code: SciGirls! online media affect girls' interest, beliefs, and behavioral intent towards coding and code-related careers?" And Code Trip, a PBS series touted by Microsoft that aired in 2016 [$200,000 NSF award], explored computer science opportunities for young people by, as Microsoft explained, following "three students traveling around the country to speak with leaders including Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, and Hadi Partovi, entrepreneur and cofounder of Code.org."
Code Monkeys? (Sorry, couldn't let that pass.)
PBS Bets $3 Million That Monkeys Are Better CS Preschool Teachers Than Rabbits
Rabbits and monkeys have shit all to do with the actual story here. Which monkey did you pay to approve that headline?
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
And here I would have thought humans would make the best CS preschool teachers. Ah, well. No doubt they're saving a fortune on salaries. Before you know it, they'll be taking our software development jobs too.
If they are going to teach a "language" at this level is should be French, German, Chinese, Spanish etc etc .
These are the years where natural language processing develops as well as fine motor skills. Its where the brain learns about distance, and the physics of the world, i.e. throwing a ball to hit a target, jumping over things, etc etc etc
From natural language comes social integration, developing the understanding of acceptable behaviour , team work, sharing, play, friends, etc etc.
When kids hit 10 or so they should have enough of a grasp of language, mathematics, 3d space, geometry, numbers, size , abstract ideas and hopefully the start of critical thinking of being able to analyse a situation and make some sense of it.
THIS is when CS should start, when their brains are able to actually deal with the concepts in a meaningful way.
ANYTHING a preschooler learns about computers will be irrelevant by the time they are adults, however the social skills and natural language skills they develop are there for life.
Peoples abilities develop in a certain order (for the majority) and if we want to optimise their learning experience and understanding we MUST work in with Nature.
This "teach CS at preschool" has nothing to do with learning, its all about money, those that make the curriculum and the resources will make a lot of money until the ideology looses out to reality. They know in advance the idea is stupid and will be a failure, but who cares the money is whats important.
1. Teach math. Test for math skills.
2. Teach science. Test for science skills.
3. Have computers in the school that work and can be used to do programming with.
4. Have a computer at home so the students can keep learning.
5. Use the test results to really support the students who can study to program computers.
6. Offer computer classes of more interest to the other students at their own pace. Arts, music, sport education, photography, easy to understand business maths. Working with apps and the internet classes.
Support the very gifted and smart students with more math and computer programming. Teach the other students skills they can use at university and in some later vocational training.
If only some nation had done that with all their skilled, bright, average and other students over a decade? The results could be copied all over the USA?
Give every student a computer class at school, access to a working computer and a computer at home.
Lessons that work on both computers and the entire nation will be computer ready in a generation?
With the next generation following with upgraded hardware and software. Then all new teachers will be totally computer literate decades later.
Sounds like nation building and a low cost pathway to becoming a computer super power. Given that the best students will then set up local computer factories, employ locals and produce computer parts, code software, export hardware and code new national OS every year?
Super computer factories all over the nation in a generation exporting to the world with full employment?
The UK tried that with the BBC micro. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Schools full of new computers. Network computers. Educational computer software was used. Maths and science for all schools.
The result a generation later? A bit like the results of all that new science spending in the 1950s in the USA.
The UK started importing Microsoft OS, Microsoft OS ready games, MS applications and other nations fun console hardware. A few game companies with some staff got rich.
The next generation would be ready to write code for UK computers and start a UK computer industry that would export to the world?
More Microsoft games, consoles and surfing the internet to US sites. Later US apps on a US OS using hardware from production lines outside the UK.
But everyone in the UK got to see and use a computer over the decades? The generations of skills workers should have been ready to design their own apps and sell to the world years later?
Placing lots of new computer in average schools does not create a nation of super computer experts.
People still want to become lawyers, veterinarians, doctors, pilots, plumbers, to do something with arts or sports, design or build or just take care of things in a home if they are allowed to select their own education.
They use a computer to do things but the OS, apps, software might be written by a select few experts.
The hardware and networks are even more complex and need even better experts.
Who created that skill level? Nations who teach math and science and who still test and grade on merit. Put funding back into university level educations after years of testing. Talk to employers. Do they want people who can use a computer?
How many staff really need to know who to program a computer, create an OS given a very bespoke imported closed source application controls the hardware and software and always has to due to legal or really complex hardware issues?
Rick a just in time production line or harvest or expensive raw materials? That kind of work needs expert design, not an entire workforce that could program an educational computer a decade ago.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
You must complete the programming assignment in the allotted time to unlock the classroom door. After that time has expired, the tiger cage will automatically unlock.
For extra credit, identify the faulty NTP server that the cage lock is using.
Have gnu, will travel.