I had a power outage last night that really had me appreciate one aspect of technology we have taken for granted - power. I can certainly see how electrification can boost children's grades - they can read and do homework at night when their days may be dedicated to farmwork after school. From what I read that sort of labor is essential given some horrifying unintended consequences like banning child labor too early for their economic development apparently resulting in increases in child prostitution (correlation isn't causation).
I haven't spent time in the third world but I think it is safe to say the technology that does them the most good is infrastructure whether it is ancient like sewers or new like cellphone first deployment.
I think tablets are largely something for the far end of the bell curve - good for autodidacts who would seek out new things when given the means. Most people don't spend their frer time say looking up obscure history and quantum physics but those who do can be enriched by it.
There are smart people everywhere - I had a professor who grew up in the third world and disassembled and reassembled electronics from a young age. My deceased grandfather had a middle school education but sure could learn - despite working as a plasterer he managed to learn quite a bit of completely unrelated trades untaught, perspective in wood art, and write an eloquent sermon about his time in the Pacific theater when he accidentally made a more generous than expected donation in the dark - giving a $20 bill which is about $300 today and worth even more to the natives. It would have fit in as a chapter of a quality novel perectly.
Yes, eletricity is essential. By "technology" I was refearing mostly to computers/tablets/phones in the classroom.
Also, not all _"third world"_ are equal. Brazil, Senegal and India, to take three semi-random examples, are very different in its structure.
And inside a country, there is also a lot of inequality. I am from Brazil and got basically the best education money can buy (excluding fancy, elitist schools for millionaires).
Brazil is an upper middle income country, it would hardly be considered poor by world standards. In fact, I think “middle income trap” was specifically coined because of Brazil having trouble breaking into a rich nation. India is a bit poorer (lower middle income I think). Many African countries are lower income, a tier below.
> I am from Brazil and got basically the best education money can buy
So maybe you're not the best qualified to determine what works best for the poor?
Have you ever been 1 of 40 students with a text book that is falling apart, with kids fighting in the class room, with a teacher who doesn't give a shit? What's easier, buying a $100 tablet, or turning a school around?
The idea that education won't be revolutionized by technology is willfully ignorant. Kids will put on a virtual reality headset and talk to AI teachers, if someone had the pocket to build it.
Kids don't need to go to school. Obedience training needs to end. Poor kids need a way to learn skills that are in demand. Technology is the only way forward, not lining the pockets of NGO employees.
> What's easier, buying a $100 tablet, or turning a school around?
Buying the tablet is easier, if you have the money. But just how long do you think it's going to last in that kind of environment? Turning the school around is a thousand times harder - but if you manage, you're going to impact more than a thousand times more students than you would with one lousy tablet.
> Poor kids need a way to learn skills that are in demand.
In the context they live in, the skills that are in demand are agriculture and reading - not the current fad in web frameworks.
I do not determine what works best for the poor. I was reproducingy wife's opinion (that has a very different background from mine) that is backed by some studies.
I also made very clear that there is lack of evidence that technology (as in computers in the classroom) help so far. I never said I am against trying to revolutionize the education with tech, I just said it isn't revolutionizing right now, as the article implies.
You are fighting an idealized enemy here, not debating with me. You are arguing to inexistent arguments that would make you feel good about your own strong ideas. Not actually bothering to understand my point.
And acusing my wife of corruption or unethical behavior was just shitty.
> I was reproducingy wife's opinion (that has a very different background from mine) that is backed by some studies.
What studies? Help me out here. I'm trying to understand how having high quality instructions are harmful to people who can't afford quality teachers.
> I also made very clear that there is lack of evidence that technology (as in computers in the classroom) help so far.
What about the evidence in the article? Did you read it? What evidence do you have?
> Not actually bothering to understand my point.
That your wife is some authority on education and thinks technology is bad. Profound.
> And acusing my wife of corruption or unethical behavior was just shitty.
Didn't say that. But at some point "cancer awareness" organizations exist to keep their members employed and not actually curing cancer. Human nature and all that.
Alternative sources of lights (candles, kerosene lantern and backup batteries who can afford it) are used when there are power outages.
But you're right we do take power for granted but I think what I found most lacking during power outages were not the light source but access to Internet. Just being able to lookup something really quick while you're learning is much more efficient than waiting the next day to ask your teacher to answer it, which is hit/miss sometimes.
Just being able to lookup something really quick while you're learning is much more efficient than waiting the next day to ask your teacher
Is it, really? Before we had the Internet and Stackexchange we had manpages, the library and your own brain. When you put in an effort to solve your problem it's better for understanding than looking up the solution.
Yes, we can't overlook the fact that critical thinking is needed before searching for the solution but I see Internet as just one of many tools but with better feedback than libraries/manpages/britanica etc. What might have taken me few minutes or hours to find can be found in less time giving me more time to spend on the subject that I'm learning.
Not everything is in a library, I remember writing off to all many of companies and organisations asking for literature about their products and such like.
It took ages. Of course all of that can be done almost instantly with webpages. Although now I'm drowning in broweser tabs.
I haven't spent time in the third world but I think it is safe to say the technology that does them the most good is infrastructure whether it is ancient like sewers or new like cellphone first deployment.
I think tablets are largely something for the far end of the bell curve - good for autodidacts who would seek out new things when given the means. Most people don't spend their frer time say looking up obscure history and quantum physics but those who do can be enriched by it.
There are smart people everywhere - I had a professor who grew up in the third world and disassembled and reassembled electronics from a young age. My deceased grandfather had a middle school education but sure could learn - despite working as a plasterer he managed to learn quite a bit of completely unrelated trades untaught, perspective in wood art, and write an eloquent sermon about his time in the Pacific theater when he accidentally made a more generous than expected donation in the dark - giving a $20 bill which is about $300 today and worth even more to the natives. It would have fit in as a chapter of a quality novel perectly.