Laptops to all 10-year-olds

[rpm]

Laptops to all 10-year-olds

The Spanish government will provide all schoolchildren in their fifth year of primary education with a laptop computer from September, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced.

[charlie_82]

The laptops is a bit of overkill... I don't think a 10-year old is resposible enough to own a laptop

Why not offer it to University students?

This on the other hand is terrific:

He also announced that the government would provide €70 million ($95 million) to help unemployed people aged between 25 and 40 attend university for free.

[Netguy]

Principle is good, but it also depends on the type of Laptop - maybe OLPC or some ruggedised unit that could withstand typical 10-year-old roughness.

[Sackboy]

I knew a mother who gave her 9-yr-old one. He wasn't the best behaved little tyke, but it was an eye-opener. It lasted 3 days. Unless there's a special version available, I don't advocate doing this in every case. I had a computer when I was very young, but then I usually looked after my things.

[smokey]

I think it's a great idea if the right type of laptop is given. a rugged OLPC version instead of a normal 15" cheapy or an ultra expensive netbook. i mean with decent free wireless internet (properly controlled of course) it could make a boom in education.

[Garyvdh]

agreed, I dunno if I would even give one to high school students unless it was an OLPC.

[elmorya]

Sturdily fixed to a desk....comes to mind.

[killadoob]

Why not? 10 year old kids these days are nothing like when me when i was 10, every generation is maturing at a much faster rate. We are in the age of the computer.

[Budza]

Why not? 10 year old kids these days are nothing like when me when i was 10, every generation is maturing at a much faster rate. We are in the age of the computer.

Ja. Slippery slope though. Soon after school "sport" is going to involve LAN games Kids need time to enjoy being kids- they are going to slave away at a frikken computer for the rest of their lives...

[Garyvdh]

Why not? 10 year old kids these days are nothing like when me when i was 10, every generation is maturing at a much faster rate. We are in the age of the computer.

I thought you were still 10???

seriously, killa... can you see these guys getting into a brawl after school and several laptops getting smashed??? It doesn't take much imagination. Never mind the risk of theft.

[Arthur]

Sad, really. Computers in primary and even middle school are a pedagogical disaster. I'm a real technophile, but developing people is an entirely different matter, and technology is the last thing they need. Education is very different from instruction and teaching. I made a mistake with my kids and got them into technology waaay too soon.

The Computer Delusion

Why children shouldn't have the world at their fingertips

Teachers and Machines (book)