Learning and XO - a.k.a. the $100 computer

Steve Jobs of Apple, Inc. was once quoted as saying, “We think basically you watch television to turn your brain off, and you work on your computer when you want to turn your brain on.” Unlike pre-Internet media consumers, today’s generation of media consumers are also publishers. They are blogging, producing their own videos and podcasting. They are chatting about the TV they watch, while watching them. It is a far cry from a world that flopped itself on a couch to be mesmerized by the evening’s lineup of electrons.

Yet this is still not as engaging as writing a computer program. Whether the program is a game, a simulation, or a tool, the programmer needs to understand the world that is being modeled. For example, if you want to write a game where a cannonball is shot out of a cannon, you have to understand quite a bit about gravity and momentum. Programming is much more engaging and rewarding than just shooting the aliens. I have expanded on this theme in my article Learning by Interactive Programming (L.I.P.).

What does this have to do with the XO - a.k.a. the $100 computer? XO comes with a number of very advanced programming environments. The most exciting of these for education are Squeak (a version of SmallTalk), eToys (built in Squeak), and LOGO, of turtle-graphics fame. These languages are student and teacher-friendly. Given what I regard as the inevitable success of the XO, this is exciting news.

It will mean millions of students potentially learning how to turn their brains on! In future postings I hope to explore for you how these languages work and how they can be used educationally.

Playing To Learn

What is play? It is an activity that does not have real life consequences. Play is often regarded as being just for amusement but in reality play is a simulation of life, except that it does not hold the dire consequences of life. For example, a shooting game does not kill real people. A financial game does not lose real money.

This is not to say that playing is not important. In fact, it is essential for learning. Play is a safe place to try out new skills and to explore new ideas. It is how animals learn how to hunt without getting eaten in the process, and it is how children develop ways in which to interact with their peers through role play.

The careful selection of games is important to teach people new skills. Parents and teachers should consider games carefully as a way to develop skills. Business trainers should consider games as the means to develop business skills and as a way to brainstorm for new ideas.

In order for play to work, particularly with adults, the atmosphere must be one of acceptance. The user must feel free to allow his or her imagination to roam free and to be immersed in the game. Judgement must be suspended because, as important it is for the game player to be free of physical consequences, the user must also be free of limiting peer pressure. In such an environment, games can truly be vehicles for learning new skills and as catalysts for new ideas.

Differentiated Learning

The question of how we can improve our schools is a perennial one.

Some statistics seem to indicate that the Unites States' educational system needs a major overhaul. In a recent interview, Representative Bart Gordon (Tennessee 6th District), Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology, was quoted as saying that 50% of U.S. high school seniors are not proficient in math. He states that U.S. students score near the bottom of all countries in math and science scores. Only Cyprus and South Africa scored worst. His hypothesis for why U.S. schools score so low is that teachers in the U.S. are not sufficiently proficient in math and science. He says that only 50% of math teachers have a major in, or are certified, to teach math, and that 92% of science teachers in K-12 have neither a certification nor a major degree in science. If these statistics are to be believed, then a solution would be to increase the level of instructional expertise, either by training more teachers, or by somehow attracting professional mathematicians or scientists to teach. Bringing in additional expertise might be a solution.

On the other hand, do the scores take into account the great cultural, ethnic, and economic diversity that exists in the U.S.? No other country in the world, not even Russia or China, can claim to have as much diversity and thus, as many challenges, to their educational system. Most every public school in the country has poor and rich children; has children from supportive and abusive families; has children from English literate families or English illiterate ones. This is what this country has to contend with. How can one deal with such diversity? Having more individualized education would be the answer.

The key word in United States education today is differentiated learning: providing education that takes into account the different learning needs and styles of a diverse population. Whether the problem is low expertise in teaching personnel or the need to have individualized instruction for a diverse student population, how can society pay for such custom instruction?

The technology exists today to develop virtual experts that are pros at differentiated learning. Although an initial development investment would be required, once developed, such virtual experts would exist indefinitely, requiring only a maintenance cost. I have developed working versions of these virtual experts. Ironically, my biggest customer so far has been China. Will any group in the U.S. have the patience and futuristic foresight to invest in developing more mature versions of this technology?

Time Shifting

A defining trend in today’s electronic world is time shifting - the ability to receive content at the time of one’s own choosing. For decades we have been locked into other people’s schedules. Live performances, radio shows, TV shows, and movies, all occurred at prescribed times.

The time-shifting trend caught the media’s attention with TiVo, but now with high-bandwidth Internet we are on the verge of being unshackled from broadcast schedules. We can receive news, listen to music, or watch video whenever we want.

In education, time-shifting is in its infancy. For the most part, online courses are still tied to schedules and the structure of a school and professor. A completely time-shifted educational experience has yet to emerge yet time-shifting is valuable in order to provide an individualized experience to learning.