Child’s play
By this stage in the game, continuing to have doubts about the relevance of technology in the world that our children will inhabit is borderline irresponsible.
While countries like the United Kingdom are now focusing on introducing computer science into the national curriculum, other countries’ education system continues to do no more than teach the use of word processors, spreadsheets, or presentation programs, meaning that children are largely dependent on their parents if they are to develop a real understanding of technology.
Preparing a child for a future where he or she will be surrounded on all sides by different technologies doesn’t simply mean letting him or her play with their computer, smartphone, tablet, or console. We need to be using technology to greater ends than simply a way to occupy our children when they become bothersome. The constant use of technological devices can help to develop a culture of familiarity, to overcome the fear and reverence our earlier generations showed, having grown up in a world where technology was expensive, untouchable, and scarce, but it’s not enough. Furthermore, it is a good idea to try to structure this learning so that it is able to help with the understanding of simple programs, building devices, or helping to develop a pro-active attitude toward technology.
Placing our children in an environment that is rich in technology and that will help develop their skills is not necessarily expensive, although it obviously requires some investment. Among the tools that can help in this learning process it is worth highlighting a few created by MIT. Collaboration between MIT Media Lab with Denmark’s Lego dates back to 1998 and the first version of Lego Mindstorms, a kit consisting of motors and sensors, that along with a small computer installed in a brick, could be used to build small, programmable robots. Lego Mindstorms EV3 is the current version, recommended for children aged 10 years or older, and costing around 300 euros.
MIT is also behind the creation of Scratch, a language that helps children to acquire programming skills, simply and easily, as well as how to change programs and learn from others. You start out moving a cat around the screen, and end up understanding the logic of programming and even creating simple games. It can be used with any computer, for example an old machine we no longer use, or even with a Raspberry Pi costing €35.
The Raspberry Pi, which has already sold more than two million units, could be a very good way to introduce a child to computing. Maintaining the machine in good running order, and up to date is easily picked up from a couple of tutorials, and there are any number of projects designed for children. Aside from the low price of the machine, you will need a monitor, a multiple USB port with its own charger, and HDMI cable, and a small WiFi dongle, but we are still talking about a relatively small outlay.
Another classic open hardware project, Arduino, also has a good number of projects designed for children, with no need for soldering irons thanks to cables and circuit boards, or even robots designed for children to learn the logic of programming. In the same sphere of robotics a recent project set up for former Google and Apple engineers called Play-i, with two robots, Bo and Yana, along with accessories (it is also compatible with Lego Mindstorms) and that will be available half way through next year.
We are currently witnessing a boom in the development of these kinds of games (if you know of any others, please mention them in the comments), and it is essential we adopt the right mentality toward them. We are not talking about toys here: we are talking about proactive attitudes, projects designed to play with your children, of accepting that you are not going to give them things to play with that you don’t understand, and that surely these games that you are buying for your children could also help you understand technology better. But above all, this is about preparing your children to live in an environment where they will be permanently surrounded by programmable objects, and where many of the skills required by society will be learned through those early contacts with technology. Let’s get going.
