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Thread ID: 136211	2014-02-03 19:52:00	Getting kids started	Webdevguy (17166)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1366812	2014-02-03 23:07:00	Yeah how many of you have had kids show you how to do something on a tech device. My sister was saying her son only has to see something done once on a device and he knows how to do it - case in point getting the Xbox 1 online which he wasn't supposed to know and observed Dad doing once... Then there's a the old cliche of the VHS recorder with the blinking clock display because many of the older generation couldn't figure out how to set them up. Those of us who grew up with technology have a much easier time of it and take those skills and familiarity for granted. Do you want your kids to be the ones who struggle to use new devices? On the other hand I'm not sure expensive tablets are justified at school, particularly for the younger kids. I didn't get a calculator for school until near the end of my 5th form year. My parents didn't see the need and I managed to do well in maths being one of only a few kids without one. Our School had two apple computers and getting time on them was tricky, and still I ended up with building PCs and gaming on them as a hobby. I wonder though as user friendliness is ever improved if the skill required to use things hasn't already peaked and the tech saviness of end users isn't actually declining on average. When I first started using PC's it was all command based and required some knowledge of commands and syntax to use, now it's all graphic and user friendly it seems easier on a casual basis.	dugimodo (138)
1366813	2014-02-03 23:36:00	First year at infants school in the UK we used chalk and slates..........:)...........There was a paper shortage during the war.................I can't remember when we first used paper and pencil, it may have been second year at infants, or first year at primary school. Quite honestly I haven't noticed any great leap in ability or IQ due to the increasing use of gadgets. I have noticed a deterioration in ability to do 'mental arithmetic' or even just totting up cost of items without the use of a calculator.	Terry Porritt (14)
1366814	2014-02-03 23:38:00	Where would we be in our days without a plain calculator! Hmm......and how do you think people got on before the things were around? Most of the maths we use was invented/discovered by people with only their brain to use. Usefulness....yeah....granddaughter insisted I watch this last time she was over: www.youtube.com She typed it in to Google then found it via youtube, thought it was brilliant, singing the words, explaining Rambo to me.......she's 5.	pctek (84)
1366815	2014-02-04 01:01:00	When I went to school we used pen an paper to do mathematical calculations and we had to show our workings. We could still get marks for having the right formula even though we had the answer wrong. The nearest thing that we had to a calculator was algorithm tables. Computers were something used by mad scientists.	Bobh (5192)
1366816	2014-02-04 02:36:00	When I went to school we used pen an paper to do mathematical calculations and we had to show our workings. We could still get marks for having the right formula even though we had the answer wrong. The nearest thing that we had to a calculator was algorithm tables. Computers were something used by mad scientists. It was the same when I was in the 4th and 5th form. We got the fx 81 scientific calculator so that we could learn to do Sin, Cos sin and tangent stuff, which was rather meaningless to me at the time until I got into the interactive side of web design some 30 years later . Same thing goes for basic algebra equations. They were fairly meaningless at school but now I use the same concept on a daily basis when I write anything that involves interactive code on a website. You do it a lot with trigger points in responsive web design.	Webdevguy (17166)
1366817	2014-02-04 03:57:00	I have always found a good swift kick up the butt is what's needed to get kids going :D	gary67 (56)
1366818	2014-02-04 04:04:00	I have always found a good swift kick up the butt is what's needed to get kids going :D Although I do agree, I didn't realise you had children.	plod (107)
1366819	2014-02-04 07:05:00	step son 6'2" towers over me	gary67 (56)
1366820	2014-02-04 07:34:00	step son 6'2" towers over me So more of a head butt then	plod (107)
1366821	2014-02-04 07:36:00	I have my doubts - A lot of younger kids (including mine) are great with USING the gadgets but if anything goes wrong, it's Dad they come to to FIX things.	decibel (11645)
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