Oh Goodness University

Hey! I'm sorry I haven't updated this in a while but university started about two weeks back and I've been swamped, not to mention my apartment has no internet, but that's another angry story. So just to keep you updated, my face is looking considerably better, especially if you take into account all the new stress from all my school work. There are other reasons I'm stressed out but it's a bit sad so I'll tell you all if you ask. So as this is not a proper blog, I thought I'd include some blogs I had to do for my Cyberspace class. Beware, it's kind of boring if you don't like technology. I like it though. So here it is, and I promise I'll update with the first Outfit of the Week this weekend.

One Laptop Per Child:

In the article "Nicholas Negroponte: The Sugar daddy for future generations" Jack Schofield discusses Mr Negroponte's visionary work with One Laptop Per Child. This program distributes tough little laptops called XO-1 to remote parts of the world. Due to problems with contracts, the price never got down to what Mr Negroponted had hoped it would, so many of the machines were purchased in a "Get one, Give one" promotion where you bought two and one of the green laptops was sent to a child. In only a year, though, the One Laptop Per Child program lost half of its staff including its software boss and chief technology officer, while the remaining staff received pay cuts.

With all of these setbacks, Mr Negroponte is optimistic about the program, reporting that once the next batch of XO-1 laptops are made there will be over one million in existence. One plan he has to increase the chances of government officials buying it is to add Windows XP to the laptops so they will be able to run two different programs. Mr Negroponte is so optimistic about the program that he is planning a follow up project, the XO-2 which would likely have two screens and be able to be used as either a book or a laptop. This potential product would also be made available to copy and would be available in the west to compete with other ebooks such as the Kindle.

I think that the idea of one laptop per child is a good one, but I like the proposed idea of a ebook product better because it will not only expose more people to a large variety of books, but it will also be available here in the west if it is produced. This means that it would be a cheap alternative to more expensive ebooks or even text books. Overall I believe that if this program continues to grow it will be a huge step forward in education all around the world.

Schofield, Jack. "Nicholas Negroponte: the Sugar daddy for future generations | Technology | The Guardian." guardian.co.uk. 29 January 2009. 10 Sep 2009 .

Digital Divide:

In "As Classrooms Go Digital, Textbooks Are History," Tamar Lewin addresses the future of classrooms as technology advances and become more and more present in daily life. In some schools, technology has already become not only a great assistant in learning, but also a staple in classes. A few of these schools use laptops provided by the schools to access lessons, homework, and even listen to lectures that have been posted by their teachers, while other schools uses technology to set up extra courses that student couldn't normally take due to scheduling conflicts.

In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced this summer that some high school texts would be replaced with similar free digital ones in order to save some money. Some education experts believe that in five years many schools will be digitally-based and that there needs to be a move towards this type of schooling. This move, though, could be a problem because many students throughout the United States do not have access to electronic devices that would allow them to work digitally and some schools cannot provide these luxuries to their students.

I believe the move towards electronic education is overall a good thing. This will provide cheaper textbooks and the textbooks that the schools once had can be donated to other schools that cannot update to digital learning or those who cannot afford new textbooks. This will also cut back on unnecessary logging, saving rainforests and the animals who reside in them. Students will also have a chance to learn things they wouldn’t have been able to in a normal class setting and be able to learn from better teachers. My sister switched to Pennsylvania Cyber a few years ago because the public school near us didn’t offer high-enough level courses and they couldn’t fit all the classes she wanted to take into her schedule. Of course, there are always negatives, but I believe that the positives outweigh the negatives on this issue.

Lewin, Tamar. "As Classrooms Go Digital, Textbooks May Become History - NYTimes.com." The New York Times. 08 August 2009. 10 Sep 2009