Re: [edu-eu] Open tablet --- Edu-EU Digest, Vol 46, Issue 1

[Albert Dengg]

hi,

first of: sending html only mails to maling lists is usually seen as bad manner,
see for example [0].
but i did a quick stripping to be able to reply, i hope i did not change
any meanings in the process.
On Thu, Mar 01, 2012 at 12:53:40PM +0100, Daniel Rohde-Kage wrote:
...
>
> Hello to all of you,
> 
> the fundamental discussion about tablets in schools has to be made.
I'm not so shure on the long run...
yes there is currently a hype, but i think people are still trying to
figure out on what really to do with them
> But I try
>     to hide my displeasure
>   over remarks here, ignoring
>     the multimedial possibilities of digital systems like
>     tablet-pcs. I don't understand the *educational sense of
>       hacking* a digital camera, a gps, a hi-end-speaker-system,
>   a screen, a gyrometer, a keyboard, a microphone, a
> surface for painting, a video camera, a computer, a system with
> thousands of useful software for *creating contents*.... But I
> do have *hundreds of didactical ideas *what to do with all
> these features of a tablet.
well, i see 2 points here:
1) since it is technically no necessary, why should the company selling
the hardware deside on how and what to teach with it?
2) it depends on what you are teaching.
I personanlly think we should teach how things work, not just how to use
the ui.
so for example people at stanford created frankencam[1].
so now people can not only see what comes out of the black box camera if
they press a button but also see whats going on inside and play with
that to see what you can do.
that also goes for other areas of expertise where people are should
learn to understand the basic workings and not just the current way of
doing it (where to press what button in what software, on what
hardware,...), so that they can adapt to changes in their soroundings
over time.
> 
> But it is a difference whether you joining a process or criticize
> it. Just for me it is watching Apple taken over the special and
> sensible section in life: education!
> This is taking place right now in Germany, and not only me would
> like to offer schools an alternative to the (wonderful designed,
> perfect working, good-looking, sensational easy-to-use and horrible
> closed) Ipad and the well-organized and perfectly managed and
> horrible closed-minded Apple e-book-campaign.
> 
> I need help to do this. There is hardware (maybe 'Spark'), there is
> an open OS (for example the great KDE Plasma Active).
> Now: there is some open software (which one is usable on
> tablets?),where is support (for non IT-professional-companies like
> schools are), how can we manage marketing?
> 
> I eagerly await the published official terms of contracts
> (<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" 
> href="http://www.mk.niedersachsen.de/portal/live.php?navigation_id=26328&amp;article_id=6525&amp;_psmand=8";>http://www.mk.niedersachsen.de/portal/live.php?navigation_id=26328&amp;article_id=6525&amp;_psmand=8</a>),
> which should be published today.
well what you are refrencing here (software, hardware, support) are
thechnical points, and while i see youre points and mostly agree, how
education is done is (mostly) a political thing and one point you have
not mentoined is political lobbying as marketing is (in my opinion)
usally focused on specific products, which wile it can help the one or
the other side in these processes is only part of the process and not
the most important one.

yours,
albert

[0] http://linux.sgms-centre.com/misc/netiquette.php#nohtml
[1] http://graphics.stanford.edu/projects/camera-2.0/

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