[lbo-talk] U.S. working class: functionally literate

arash at riseup.net arash at riseup.net
Fri Mar 4 13:51:28 PST 2005



>I'm also curious to learn what people outside the US
>bubble think. How're things in India, Japan, S.
>Korea, etc?

They tried a rather interesting experiment with computer use and education in India not too long ago. A touch-sensitive monitor was placed in the side of wall in an urban slum and within a few days illiterate children had mastered on their own the fundamentals of the operating system and web browsing. The experiment was extended to rural villages where they had similar success.

There is a frontline piece on it here: http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/india/thestory.html

There is also another film on it called "Hole in the Wall" which I reccommend mainly because of an amusingly bizarre digression it has on how the computer screen and its ability to dispense knowledge is a bit like the monolith in 2001: A Space Odessey. That then leads into an jaunt to Sri Lanka where the experimenter has a living room chat with Aruther C. Clarke.

"Young bloods can't spell but they can rock you in playstation." - The Mighty Mos Def



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