High Tech in Education

This was a comment posted on New York Times

Use of ipods in Schools (USA)

First of all big THANK YOU to New York Times for facilitating email forwarding of Links of articles.

I was trying to Forward FORGIVENESS (article) and could not to all my friends and had to send emails instead.

Now I do this direct and it is going to the far corners of the globe.

It is an example (better example than what the real diplomats are supposed to be doing and not doing it effectively) to the world at large and editors of the National papers in the third world (including Ceylon) who pamper to the whims and fancies of politicians in power who make mockery out of freedom of speech.

Coming to ipods I am trying to promote similar venture using Linux as a base (Linux has lot of educational software) but find it an uphill task since current system that dish out free outdated free school books (politically motivated) are very refractory to change and as what is stated in your article authorities neglected training of teachers.

For the past 20 years we have failed to train teachers in English (French, German too) and this is a country 30 years ago could export good trained teachers and none now.

We have to import English teachers from neighboring India.

We cannot afford ipods even in Universities and ipods in schools is out of the question in the third world.

It reminds me of the initiation of One Lap Top for Child initiative which was killed by the corporate might.

But Linux is an alternative (may not be cheap, training, OEM price and the Androids) to US and us too.

What is important is flow of information from West to the East and New York Times is doing it well.

Thank again for allowing us to share your experience and knowledge base.

You are doing a wonderful service far in excess of diplomacy that is sadly lacking both in the Easy and in the West.

May I have another suggestion, could you make available a web dictionary (American) to edit our comments (lot of mistakes there and in my old age I have lot of typos due to poor eyesight) since some of us used to UK English find it easy to become Americanized!

The point I am trying to drive at is even high tech can be cost effective if Linux is used as a vehicle of dissemination of high tech with knowledge especially in the third world.

Unfortunately administrators in education are resistant to this change and trying to use privatization as a ploy to cover up their lack of planning and foresight.

The WHO is also falling behind badly!