Educalibre Tecnología y Conocimiento Libre para una mejor Educación

Según nos cuenta Daniel Ajoy, un artículo del el New York Times cuenta cómo, las iniciativas en las que hasta ahora se han utilizado las laptops que cuestan bastante más que 200 dólares, ahora están siendo descartadas porque no se adaptan a los planes de estudio establecidos, a los modelos de evaluación antiguos, a los profesores, a las pruebas estándar. Más aún, lo alumnos han utilizado las máquinas para todo tipo actividades extra-curriculares, entre ellas, el quebrar todo tipo de medidas de seguridad de la red interna de los establecimientos. Pero quizás llo más importante, tras años de uso (en algunos casos más de 7 años) no han podido llegar a ningún tipo de evidencia empírica en cuanto al impacto en el logro educativo.

Dado que apoyamos a la campaña ciudadana UCPN de facilitar el uso de tecnología móvil para los niños de nuestro país, ¿puede la tecnología impactar positivamente en el aprendizaje formal?, ¿empoderados de la tecnología, son indomables los niños?, ¿cuánto deben cambiar lios profesores su didáctica para integrar la tecnología?

Eso se nota en estos párrafos:

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Yet school officials here and in several other places said laptops had been abused by students, did not fit into lesson plans, and showed little, if any, measurable effect on grades and test scores at a time of increased pressure to meet state standards. Districts have dropped laptop programs after resistance from teachers,
logistical and technical problems, and escalating maintenance costs.
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"Where laptops and Internet use make a difference are in innovation, creativity, autonomy and independent research," he said. "If the goal is to get kids up to basic standard levels, then maybe laptops are not the tool. But if the goal is to create the George Lucas and Steve Jobs of the future, then laptops are extremely useful."

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Alice McCormick, who heads the math department, said most math teachers preferred graphing calculators, which students can use on the Regents exams, to laptops, which often do not have mathematical symbols or allow students to show their work for credit. "Let's face it, math is for the most part still a paper-and-pencil activity when you're learning it," she said.

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Lo que respondió Negroponte con respecto al artículo de NY Times sobre la cancelación de programas de laptops en EU.

http://pastie.caboo.se/60303

# To the Editor:
#
# Laptop pilot programs in Maine, Brazil and Cambodia, to name a
# few places, have demonstrated that children use technology to
# explore, create and share ideas with others. Yes, kids are going
# to play video games and sometimes download adult content, but
# that´s part and parcel of living in a free and open society. It´s
# up to parents and teachers to help children learn how to evaluate
# different types of content.
#
# It will be a tragedy if your article influences other schools
# not to invest in technology. While other countries are investing
# in laptops for their students, the United States is in danger of
# moving backward.
#
# We live in an information age, and it is time for the United
# States to infuse computing and technology into every aspect of
# learning.
#
# It will be an even bigger tragedy if developing nations are
# influenced by our bad example, because these countries have no
# libraries, books are too expensive and teachers are scarce.
#
# We need children to participate actively in their own learning.
# Connected, low-cost, rugged laptops are one way to do it.
#
# Nicholas Negroponte Cambridge, Mass., May 4, 2007 The writer, the
# founding director of the M.I.T. Media Laboratory, is the founder
# and chairman of One Laptop Per Child.