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Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom

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Re: Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom

#71

It sounds good on paper (pun intended) but policy strikes again, "Can my kid bring home her math book so we can work on the parts she's struggling with?" No of course not it lives in a cupboard at school 90% of the time might get some screen shares from it.

Interesting. Where we currently live, kids carry all books back and forth between home and school every day in giant backpacks.

Re: Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom

#72
post #64

I remember that - even though Steve Jobs promoted the iPad as a replacement to the 'heavy schoolbooks kids had to carry all day' - he never allowed his children to use iPads. I bet Zuckerberg doesn't allow his children to use social media. And I assume that Sam Altman won't allow his children to use AI chatbots. What does that tell us?

Are Jobs, Zuckerberg, and Altman generally seen as experts in childhood development and education?

No but they are experts in engineering their garbage to cause maximum damage.

Re: Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom

#73
post #25

Having observed a fair amount of computer based primary school, it seems to me anyway that the biggest problem is that kids just can't focus properly that way. Even if the machine is locked down to prevent open internet access, it's just too easy for them to become distracted by the medium itself. Books, pencils and paper may not be flashy, but isn't that actually desirable, in this context?

Yup. As a kid I could "entertain" (distract is the better word) myself by "drawing shapes" with the cursor, highlighting random things, switching between random cells in Excel, or just like... browsing through the system without any plan or reason. Procrastination is hell of a drug. I'm so lucky I didn't have this in the classroom.

To be fair, I did entertain myself by drawing comics on my notebook or playing with my pencil and rubber as if they were toy cars.

Re: Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom

#74

It sounds good on paper (pun intended) but policy strikes again, "Can my kid bring home her math book so we can work on the parts she's struggling with?" No of course not it lives in a cupboard at school 90% of the time might get some screen shares from it.

this is a problem. we make photos of the pages. i think there should be always a digital option when you have a physical book.

Re: Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom

#75
post #73
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup. As a kid I could "entertain" (distract is the better word) myself by "drawing shapes" with the cursor, highlighting random things, switching between random cells in Excel, or just like... browsing through the system without any plan or reason. Procrastination is hell of a drug. I'm so lucky I didn't have this in the classroom.

To be fair, I did entertain myself by drawing comics on my notebook or playing with my pencil and rubber as if they were toy cars.

I drew a lot of doodles and did things like that as well, but I think that they're less visually stimulating and simply "slower" so there's still some brain capacity left for learning.

Re: Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom

#76

> Basic skills — especially reading, writing, and numeracy — must be firmly established first, physical textbooks are often better suited for that purpose. Reading and writing, maybe, but numeracy? With a computer, you can get instant feedback, immidiately see whether you did the math correctly or not. With a textbook, you have to wait for your teacher.

There are books with written solutions.

Re: Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom

#77

I remember that - even though Steve Jobs promoted the iPad as a replacement to the 'heavy schoolbooks kids had to carry all day' - he never allowed his children to use iPads. I bet Zuckerberg doesn't allow his children to use social media. And I assume that Sam Altman won't allow his children to use AI chatbots. What does that tell us?

exactly, makes me think... if person who makes the bread does not feed his own family, something is wrong

Re: Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom

#78

I remember that - even though Steve Jobs promoted the iPad as a replacement to the 'heavy schoolbooks kids had to carry all day' - he never allowed his children to use iPads. I bet Zuckerberg doesn't allow his children to use social media. And I assume that Sam Altman won't allow his children to use AI chatbots. What does that tell us?

exactly, makes me think... if person who makes the bread does not feed his own family, something is wrong

[dead]

Re: Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom

#79
post #11
post #2

A very similar development is going on in neighboring Finland. There are schools that use almost exclusively paper books (instead of digital ones) again. The overall consensus among parents is that books are way better than screens for kids, all the way up to high school. Hand-writing and free drawing with pen and paper provide many advantages to fixed screens. You cannot open a new tab to Youtube in a book. The sign…

"screens" can be great for research and there is a lot you can learn online. The main problem mentioned in the article you link to seem to be distraction from what they were supposed to be doing. Distraction is not always bad and kids can learn a lot by being distracted by something that catches their interest. it depends on the approach and its more of a problem following a fixed curriculum in a classroom. Probably…

Well, the school of our kids blocks a lot of urls. Now they play the games via some url that goes like https://unblocked.something.something. These kids are not crazy.

Re: Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom

#80
post #64

I remember that - even though Steve Jobs promoted the iPad as a replacement to the 'heavy schoolbooks kids had to carry all day' - he never allowed his children to use iPads. I bet Zuckerberg doesn't allow his children to use social media. And I assume that Sam Altman won't allow his children to use AI chatbots. What does that tell us?

Are Jobs, Zuckerberg, and Altman generally seen as experts in childhood development and education?

Do they need to be? If I was a billionaire surrounded by the most educated and competent people in the world I wouldn't even spare a thought for the "Whole words are better than phonics" crowd.
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