Tag: Computer

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Digital

The Machine Gives No Choices?

gato-en-un-teclado--cat-on-a-keyboard-1430977-mInteresting research highlighted on Mashable, about what people potentially miss out on by spending time online:

Even so, this computer time has a notable impact, eating into things like sleep, work, travel and household chores. For every minute that they spend lazing on the computer, Americans spend approximately 16 fewer seconds working, seven fewer seconds sleeping, six fewer seconds traveling, four fewer seconds doing household chores and three fewer seconds educating themselves. Although Wallsten can’t prove that more computer time causes less sleep, for instance, he concludes “that online activities, even when free from monetary transactions, are not free from opportunity cost.”

Always worth thinking about what we gain/what we lose, and how much choice we have in all this! Read full blog post.

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Digital

Digital toys don’t harm or help your children #digitalparenting

mYunHiaSome interesting research from the University of Edinburgh re whether technological devices really affect modern childhood:

But parents found it difficult to know whether widespread exposure to these products was good for their children, as many of the devices had not been invented when they were children.

“Some will tell you that children have an affinity for technology that will be valuable in their future lives,” Plowman said. “But others think that children should not be playing with technology when they could be playing outside or reading a book.”

Plowman said that although there had been widespread media coverage about the advantages and disadvantages of children being exposed to computers and ­other digital media at an increasingly young age, there was little research on whether it really had an effect.

Read full article.

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Digital

Computers in Exams: Different Type of Problem

Because of such concerns, there has been a move recently to think about letting undergraduates complete their written examinations on word processors. The logic is that it is unfair to make them put pen to paper (rather than it being easier for examiners to mark word-processed text). The main thrust of the pro-word-processors-in-examinations argument seems be that since no one (including undergraduates) writes anything longhand any more, and because all other assessed work (for example, coursework) is word-processed, having to handwrite examination essays is unfair. The second main argument is that students generally obtain higher marks in tests when they word-process their answers (see Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 2008, 24: 39-46).

Read full story in Times Higher Education.