As someone else said, without the Apple II's, I would probably not be where I am today (which is, the head of the IT/IS dept at a small company). And beyond that, my neice and nephew, both of whom are dyslexic, would most likely still be stuggling to read on a kindergarten level. When school started back up last fall, he was going into the third grade and reading on a high first grade level, while she was entering the first grade, and barely reading on an entry-kindergarten level. Attending a local Edison-project school, they were afforded not only computers in every single classroom, but also game consoles for home use with learning games (and believe me, some of those games are pretty cool... and yes, they still use Oregon Trail (Yea!!):) They love working with the computers, because it takes something boring, like learning to read, makes it more fun, and gives them a real REASON to learn to read... without reading, they cant go lookup info on their fav. wrestlers or skaters, and they certainly cant read their favorite books (ie: Harry Potter, Magic Schoolbus, et al). Now, at the end of the term, my nephew is one of the best readers in his class, and his sister is doing MUCH better, but will still have to repeat the first grade. Overall, computers can go both ways in a classroom, good or bad... I think that, in most cases, schools and classrooms, and ultimately the students, are much better off with the computers. Peace out!
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As someone else said, without the Apple II's, I would probably not be where I am today (which is, the head of the IT/IS dept at a small company). And beyond that, my neice and nephew, both of whom are dyslexic, would most likely still be stuggling to read on a kindergarten level. When school started back up last fall, he was going into the third grade and reading on a high first grade level, while she was entering the first grade, and barely reading on an entry-kindergarten level. Attending a local Edison-project school, they were afforded not only computers in every single classroom, but also game consoles for home use with learning games (and believe me, some of those games are pretty cool... and yes, they still use Oregon Trail (Yea!!) :) They love working with the computers, because it takes something boring, like learning to read, makes it more fun, and gives them a real REASON to learn to read... without reading, they cant go lookup info on their fav. wrestlers or skaters, and they certainly cant read their favorite books (ie: Harry Potter, Magic Schoolbus, et al). Now, at the end of the term, my nephew is one of the best readers in his class, and his sister is doing MUCH better, but will still have to repeat the first grade. Overall, computers can go both ways in a classroom, good or bad... I think that, in most cases, schools and classrooms, and ultimately the students, are much better off with the computers. Peace out!