Comments on: Let them eat cake? No, let them change the world. http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world Thoughts About Empowering Students with Technology Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:39:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Shelley http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-66002 Shelley Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:01:56 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/#comment-66002 My students in the USA particpate in Think.com, an online educational community. They have found one of these schools in Arahuay, Peru on the network and I have been helping them translate questions and answers back and forth. One of the classes has a photo of the students using the laptops. It is a nearly empty room, with chipped paint, bare floors and walls, and an old wooden table. The children and teacher are gathered there, around some computers. What was on that table before? I see learning. I see possibilities. I see my students in a mountain community in Wyoming sharing ideas with children in a mountain community in Peru. I think it has big benefits now, and what will the world be like in 15 years, when the 20somethings have grown up with a world community classroom? My students in the USA particpate in Think.com, an online educational community. They have found one of these schools in Arahuay, Peru on the network and I have been helping them translate questions and answers back and forth.
One of the classes has a photo of the students using the laptops.
It is a nearly empty room, with chipped paint, bare floors and walls, and an old wooden table. The children and teacher are gathered there, around some computers. What was on that table before? I see learning. I see possibilities.
I see my students in a mountain community in Wyoming sharing ideas with children in a mountain community in Peru. I think it has big benefits now, and what will the world be like in 15 years, when the 20somethings have grown up with a world community classroom?

]]> By: Robin http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-14911 Robin Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:00:46 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/#comment-14911 Very informative blog post. Thank you. Very informative blog post. Thank you.

]]> By: Michele http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-14746 Michele Sun, 13 Jan 2008 14:37:56 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/#comment-14746 Sylvia, Does Peru use standardized tests to evaluate children? Since the goal of OLPC is education, not laptops, how have the XO children performed versus the non-XO children? Sylvia,
Does Peru use standardized tests to evaluate children? Since the goal of OLPC is education, not laptops, how have the XO children performed versus the non-XO children?

]]> By: Jane Krauss http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-14469 Jane Krauss Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:17:46 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/#comment-14469 Hi, Sylvia: I was inspired by the Peru story of Antony, Siada and Kevin, too, let's you skip right past this at-a-distance opining and watch kids at work! I'm commenting on your Clrm 2.0 XO group post about not being able to write into the wiki... Hi, Sylvia:
I was inspired by the Peru story of Antony, Siada and Kevin, too, let’s you skip right past this at-a-distance opining and watch kids at work!

I’m commenting on your Clrm 2.0 XO group post about not being able to write into the wiki…

]]> By: Sylvia Martinez http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-13910 Sylvia Martinez Sat, 05 Jan 2008 03:29:32 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/#comment-13910 Thanks everyone for the comments (and Diggs). I can't help but be excited by this experiment with learning on a scale never before attempted. It's way too early to declare success (or failure) and we are an impatient lot, so I hope the momentum continues. Thanks everyone for the comments (and Diggs). I can’t help but be excited by this experiment with learning on a scale never before attempted. It’s way too early to declare success (or failure) and we are an impatient lot, so I hope the momentum continues.

]]> By: Julie Lindsay http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-13800 Julie Lindsay Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:35:52 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/#comment-13800 Sylvia, thank you for your thoughts and for highlighting some issues to do with the XO implementation. As a teacher who has lived and worked in third world countries for many years I know these devices in some way will make a difference. It is putting the means of communication in the hands of the children and inspiring them to look at the world in a different way. However, this is far from a perfect world and I fear for the corruption that can erode a lot of the good that comes from this new found enlightenment. I am an optimist at heart and agree with you that we are giving young people a chance to build 'intellectual prowess'. It is what they do next is important, and how they are eventually treated by the rest of the world is even more important. These are not guinea pigs, these are people with aspirations and traditions and in many cases close family cultural ties that are largely not paralleled in many western scenarios now. We in the west also need to stop acting like the benevolent father and let them get on with what they need to do in terms of embracing knowledge and constructing it to be their own...this applies to all children of course! Sylvia, thank you for your thoughts and for highlighting some issues to do with the XO implementation. As a teacher who has lived and worked in third world countries for many years I know these devices in some way will make a difference. It is putting the means of communication in the hands of the children and inspiring them to look at the world in a different way. However, this is far from a perfect world and I fear for the corruption that can erode a lot of the good that comes from this new found enlightenment. I am an optimist at heart and agree with you that we are giving young people a chance to build ‘intellectual prowess’. It is what they do next is important, and how they are eventually treated by the rest of the world is even more important. These are not guinea pigs, these are people with aspirations and traditions and in many cases close family cultural ties that are largely not paralleled in many western scenarios now. We in the west also need to stop acting like the benevolent father and let them get on with what they need to do in terms of embracing knowledge and constructing it to be their own…this applies to all children of course!

]]> By: Kevin H http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-13778 Kevin H Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:34:24 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/#comment-13778 Thanks for the post. I have one of the XOs and I am still working on it, thinking about it, etc. Will it change the world? I certainly hope so, but there may be some validity to examining how priorities are set by countries. I think the XO and technology has a place to help developing countries make a shift to the new Flat World. But the point raised by many is that if people are hungry and without stable homes, technology won't be the panacea to change the world. I remain an optimist, however, and hope that exposure to technology like the XO might open up some doors for kids who might not otherwise ever have had the chance. Peace Kevin Thanks for the post.
I have one of the XOs and I am still working on it, thinking about it, etc.
Will it change the world?
I certainly hope so, but there may be some validity to examining how priorities are set by countries. I think the XO and technology has a place to help developing countries make a shift to the new Flat World.
But the point raised by many is that if people are hungry and without stable homes, technology won’t be the panacea to change the world.
I remain an optimist, however, and hope that exposure to technology like the XO might open up some doors for kids who might not otherwise ever have had the chance.
Peace
Kevin

]]> By: Linda Bilak http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-13750 Linda Bilak Thu, 03 Jan 2008 01:25:33 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/#comment-13750 Sylvia, I think one of the points I took away from the video is the idea that the children use them to collaborate with each other to learn. They are raised in a society where there is a critical interdependence built into their family structures and village life. THEY ARE NATURALS at something we as educational leaders are trying to capture and refine. Perhaps the computers in the right hands will lend themselves to the answers we have not thought of yet. Great post! Sylvia,
I think one of the points I took away from the video is the idea that the children use them to collaborate with each other to learn. They are raised in a society where there is a critical interdependence built into their family structures and village life. THEY ARE NATURALS at something we as educational leaders are trying to capture and refine. Perhaps the computers in the right hands will lend themselves to the answers we have not thought of yet. Great post!

]]> By: Matt Montagne http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-13740 Matt Montagne Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:43:09 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/#comment-13740 Excellent write-up and response, Sylvia. You make so many excellent points and your anecdotes about ways individuals will use connections in the future to solvr problems are wonderful as well. I'm a big believer in the power of connections-imagine a future where people in all corners of the world are able to exchange information and problem solutions with one another. Negroponte's vision is grand-it sort of follows the "If you teach a person to fish..." philosophy. His concept and idea have helped spur a whole new industry as well-low cost, powerful connectivity and communication devices for everyone. It is refreshing to see a movement in this direction, especially considering the bloated and expensive computing platforms that the masses have come to accept over the last 10 years. My wife and I participated in the G!G! program and truthfully, I have been a little disappointed with the speed of the computer, the battery life, and the fact that I can't get it to connect to my invisible SSID at school or in my home (we set our SSIDs to be invisible simply as an added security measure-security by obscurity!!) But this is coming from someone who has the latest greatest apple notebook and a 2 year old Dell desktop at the school I work at. I even passed it around to some of the 7th grade students that I teach and one boy in particular was memorized by the XO-this kid is incredibly brilliant and he was getting involved with one of the programs that use logo to build simple animations. Touché to Mr. Dvorak over there at PC Magazine! Well Stated! Happy New Year! Matt Montagne Milwaukee, WI USA Excellent write-up and response, Sylvia. You make so many excellent points and your anecdotes about ways individuals will use connections in the future to solvr problems are wonderful as well.

I’m a big believer in the power of connections-imagine a future where people in all corners of the world are able to exchange information and problem solutions with one another.

Negroponte’s vision is grand-it sort of follows the “If you teach a person to fish…” philosophy. His concept and idea have helped spur a whole new industry as well-low cost, powerful connectivity and communication devices for everyone. It is refreshing to see a movement in this direction, especially considering the bloated and expensive computing platforms that the masses have come to accept over the last 10 years.

My wife and I participated in the G!G! program and truthfully, I have been a little disappointed with the speed of the computer, the battery life, and the fact that I can’t get it to connect to my invisible SSID at school or in my home (we set our SSIDs to be invisible simply as an added security measure-security by obscurity!!) But this is coming from someone who has the latest greatest apple notebook and a 2 year old Dell desktop at the school I work at. I even passed it around to some of the 7th grade students that I teach and one boy in particular was memorized by the XO-this kid is incredibly brilliant and he was getting involved with one of the programs that use logo to build simple animations.

Touché to Mr. Dvorak over there at PC Magazine! Well Stated!

Happy New Year!
Matt Montagne
Milwaukee, WI USA

]]> By: Linda Nitsche http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-13739 Linda Nitsche Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:31:30 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/index.php/2008/01/02/let-them-eat-cake-no-let-them-change-the-world/#comment-13739 Sylvia, So well stated! Your passion is infectious. Change is a step by step process. No one knows what will be the ripple that makes a monumental difference. It is the small ripples which continue to impact the shores of the status quo which over time make imperceptible differences in the shoreline. Along those lines, no one knows what effect the ripple of the OLPC will be, but we do know from history that the repression and lack of knowledge and education have stunted the advance of past cultures. The OLPC program offers the tool, which is important, but which provides the opportunity, which is most important, for children to reach beyond their immediate world. The opportunity to access knowledge, to access people beyond their small world has the potential to ignite their innate ability to imagine, to hope, to dream, to connect, to learn, to experiment, and thereby to craft a future that they had never even imagined. I say, stand out of the way, who knows what they will accomplish- my bets are on amazing things! Sylvia, So well stated! Your passion is infectious. Change is a step by step process. No one knows what will be the ripple that makes a monumental difference. It is the small ripples which continue to impact the shores of the status quo which over time make imperceptible differences in the shoreline. Along those lines, no one knows what effect the ripple of the OLPC will be, but we do know from history that the repression and lack of knowledge and education have stunted the advance of past cultures. The OLPC program offers the tool, which is important, but which provides the opportunity, which is most important, for children to reach beyond their immediate world. The opportunity to access knowledge, to access people beyond their small world has the potential to ignite their innate ability to imagine, to hope, to dream, to connect, to learn, to experiment, and thereby to craft a future that they had never even imagined. I say, stand out of the way, who knows what they will accomplish- my bets are on amazing things!

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