Toys like thenew VTech KidiZoom PrintCamlook awesome.
Kids can snap photos and see the results right away.
But can they understand how it works?
Tanaphong Toochinda / Unsplash
Inside, its just another opaque computer, like the one youre using to read this article.
“Using and tinkering is not the same thing.
Missing Foundation
Its possible to take a bike apart and see exactly how it works.
Wikipedia
The same is true for a mechanical wristwatch, a loudspeaker, and a film camera.
When computers become involved, the tendency is to lock the software into a so-called black box.
You cant open or examine it.
There is no way to find out how it works.
That might not seem important, but understanding how the world works changes our relationship to it.
“Technological literacy is much like general scientific literacy,” says Coster.
Using and tinkering is not the same thing.
For many kids, taking stuff apart to see how it works is a way to understand the world.
Computerized toys offer no clues about how they work.
They may as well be powered by magic.
“They can’t see inside their devices.
And they’re not something that gets fixed when they break down.
But the foundational curiosity of the technology and infrastructure that supports it missing.”
Good Computers
A computer can be opened up and understood.
Toys can be built with this in mind.
In 2015, the BBC gave away a million hacking kits to UK school kids.
These comprised theBBC Micro:bit, a mini-computer with no screen, keyboard, or anything else.
Growing Up Informed
Like any education, the way we learn about technology affects us as adults.
But the foundational curiosity of the technology and infrastructure that supports it missing.
“If you dont understand how to use your smart devices properly, youre vulnerable to hacking.”
This is the same for computers.
Learning how they work lets us navigate the modern world with confidence.
“If we can’t understand the technology around us, it becomes magic,” says Adnani.
“It becomes something we feel we have no control over and can’t change.
It can also become something we don’t trust.”
