>Are we not all students and teachers on this road?
>Why is information not free and freely given? What is intellectual
>property?
Because Information is power; power has value. The need to have power, esp.
over others (thus giving power part of it's value) is a basic human need.
>>the teacher had to help them master the paradigm of "book"
>We are left with the problem of why this 'book' was a mystery to the
>student.
Remember when:
You got your first etch-a-sketch?
Or learning to use complex tools (even if they were toys)?
Or learning to drive?
Your first camera?
Or your first experience with a computer?
When you first tried to use some software after a major upgrade (DOS to WIN
3.X, WIN 3.X to WIN 95, moving from the first generation software to the
third or fourth)
Before you could effectively use the object/software/tool, you first had to
learn _how_ to use it. You also must be able to comprehend basic things
before you move on the the more complex.
>Access to the net is <currently> orders of magnitude more complex then
>access to books. When I tried to teach my father to use Word he kept
>picking the mouse up and putting it down instead of sliding it. I showed
>him how the mouse ball moved the rollers and how that mapped onto horizontal
>and vertical movement on the screen .... but he WANTED to pick the mouse up
>... part of the frustration he experienced using the computer was that some
>things he wanted to do <like pick the mouse up> screwed up the whole
>computer interface paradigm. The frustration level for a child whose been
>conditioned for attention deficit syndrome will be almost insurmountable.
For the Father, He apparently had no previous experience with computers,
only with typewriters. This is probably what led to his compulsion to pick
up the mouse like you would a platen, or other mechanism on a typewriter, a
two dimemsional movement, as opposed to the planar nature of most mice.
(not the little furred thing) :.)
I Have ADD
The only time I am/have ever been uncomfortable with computers is with
Macintoshes. I can find various analogs between the two, but it is like the
Kings english: I understand parts, and the main idea, but many of the
important details escape me.
While it could be argued that there are many extraneous factors involved,
the fact is, I have average to above knowledge of computers.
I was diagnosed with ADD in (luckily) kindergarten (I am 19 and in college
now).
I cannot remember when I was first introduced to computers. I do know that
it was with an Amiga. I did only basic games, and mastered the paint
program (It had a paint can logo is al i remember as to which). As time
passed, I got limited access to the infamous Oregon trail. I also did some
very basic word processing (remember, this was before i could type!) over
the years, I had limited exposure to all the basic machines (IIe's,
primitive Macs, etc), along with Nintendo. In 1989, My family got a top of
the line 286/16MHz with a 20 Megabyte hard drive. There, I got more
experience with things. My parents started me on a typing program
immediately. Once I had learned the keyboard, I began using the word
processor, because of my horrendous handwriting(due in part to my poor fine
motor skills, an effect of ADD). Unable to start games on the thing by
myself, I found the manual, and learned MS-DOS 3.O, sealing my fate as a PC
user. I tried my hand at BASIC, but found it very tedious.
We eventually got a PS-2 type mouse and I was able to use the DOS
equivalent of the windows explorer. I ended up taking 3 different typing
classes over and over, to no end (except learning DOS/MS WORKS, leading me
towards more advanced word processors.), due to the stupid bureaucracies of
the school district. When I got to high school, I explored the rudimentary
local network via DOS, despite the fact the machines I did this on were
Windows machines. I was able to trace to a certain batch program where some
login problems were.
I also had my first web experience with the ANCIENTSITES SPQR
Until College, I had almost no internet acces. Now, i am addicted to the
internet, and am showing/teaching people things on the windows computers in
the public labs.
One could argue that i was privliged, but i think it was more due to chance
that i got so much experience with computers.
I grew up with computers, and have watched the technology mature with me.
I am completely comfortable with computers.
As for the Father, He apparently had no previous experience with computers,
only with typewriters. This is probably what led to his compulsion to pick
up the mouse like you would a platen, or other mechanism on a typewriter, a
two dimemsional movement, as opposed to the planar nature of most mice.
(not the little furred thing) :.)
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." -
Clarke's Third Law.