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Re: wearables in teaching (a WARNING)

Jessica Mayo <> writes:

> Hmm. The most advanced electronic aid I had growing up was a pocket
> calculator I got after I started highschool, at the age of 13. It was
> another 5 years before I got a computer.

While we're reminiscing... <g>

I grew up using a computer, and according to my mom, I could type
before I could write. Of course, she's my mom, so... <laugh> In any
case, I notice that I tend to approach things a little differently,
which results in a bit of confusion in my classes. I'm more analytical
and skeptical than most of my classmates, and I tend to be more
comfortable discussing ideas with older people rather than yakking
about the latest fashion and the most recent movies. I'm also way,
way, way into technology. <laugh>

> Despite this aparent void of technology for my age group (I'm 26 now), I
> managed to learn less than half my times tables, have a hard time
> remembering more than a couple of my immediate family's birthdays, have no

Despite this overwhelming reliance on technology for my age group (I'm
19 now), I delight in being able to do math in my head, remember my
immediate family's birthdays (well, except for the pets; my sister
remembers those, though), and have _some_ idea of the street addresses
of my friends (but only because Emacs has them).

Again, anecdotal evidence, but growing up with technology isn't really
all that bad. I didn't grow up needing a calculator to do everything,
although I did have a long conversation with my math teacher when they
introduced me to PEMDAS in grade school.. ("But the calculator doesn't
do it that way!" ;) )

> idea what the actual street addresses of my friends are, and when at uni
> relied heavily on course handouts. It takes me ages when I need to learn
> a new PIN number for something.

Course handouts are good. Actually, I'd love to do away with the
photocopier and simply receive electronic copies of all of our
handouts, if possible. I'm OCRing some of our readings in Philosophy
simply because I find it much more convenient to bring one computer
instead of a stack of photocopied pages that can get folded, crumpled,
or put out of sequence.

Besides, electronic copies are much easier to search through. =)

Many of my teachers prepare their documents on a computer. I have
converters for Microsoft Word documents (catdoc is my friend!), but
Powerpoint still annoys me. I don't have the hard disk space for
OpenOffice just yet! <laugh>

> To be sure, I'm no dimwit. I am very good at grasping and applying
> concepts, processes, formulae... I just have very little actual
> memory. And I can't blame this in any way on technology because I am
> an 'edge case' that suffers exactly the same ills you describe.

<nodnod> Hear, hear! That's one of the reasons why I love having a
computer. If you don't have a perfect memory, it's the next best
thing!  Sure, I could probably try and develop a better memory, but
hey - with all the references at my fingertips, why would I bother
memorizing encyclopedias of information? If people need someone who
can instantly recall all of that without resorting to some form of
technological aid, they can keep looking. I'll keep my computer and my
Net connection. =)

Now if only I could Google from anywhere...

-- 
Sacha Chua <> - 4 BS CS Ateneo geekette
interests: emacs, linux, wearables, teaching compsci, making games

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