Eight year olds nowadays use Chromebooks in class.
It’s different from 22 years ago, when I was eight.
I had problems with writing. My handwriting was stone coal, as we would call it here in The Netherlands. Rooster legs (again, Dutch). Terrible.
We optimize education by giving Chromebooks to children. They learn how to effectively use this piece of technology, to perform stuff.
But what if we do discover that using a computer as a kid might not be the right basis for using a computer as an adult?
Computers have a variety of problems. Two main problems are my main concern.
Multitasking. It’s a lie. As I have more often stated, multitasking does not exist. Our brains can breathe and walk at the same time, but that’s because it’s a different part (reptile brain). If you task your ‘random access memory’ with multiple tasks at the same time, it wil sequentially process it. With 33% time-lag in between the tasks. That is not efficient. Focus is.
Connection to the internet. A device connected to possibly any piece information that is there, is a powertool. But if you don’t think deep enough about how to channel that superpower into useful information (instead of big information), it might as well be a drill. Or a tennis racket.
Using a Chromebook in education for 8-year olds, to me, sounds like using Mjölnir: Thor’s hammer. It’s a powerful device, but it helps if you know how to rightfully use it.
Let’s not mistake multitasking on Chromebooks for higher efficiency and figure out how to lead a next generation.