Schools across the U.S. are starting to rethink the abundance of digital devices in classrooms. After pouring billions of dollars into laptops, tablets and learning apps, a growing number of schools say it is time to scale back.
so far, nobody’s talked about taking away computers. however, you’re correct in that taking them away is not a solution.
american schools are notoriously underfunded. google realized this a few years ago when they came out with the Chromebook lineup, which are dirt cheap entries into the google ecosystem. the hardware is not the problem, the data collection introduced to children in the guise of convenience at early stages is.
my preferred solution to that would be to introduce hardware outside of the google ecosystem. the issue is, very few companies can produce at scale in the way google can. any competitors would have to sell hardware below asking price to compete. its not feasible for small companies to do so. apple and Microsoft could, but they don’t have the same data collection ecosystem that google does for the same hardware subsidies.
another big reason small companies can’t compete is that the entire Gsuite is cloud based. all you need to access it is a browser. there’s not a single public school with the IT team to set up an open-source alternative, so schools are forced (or are enthusiastic about the opportunity) to get a full Microsoft-esque productivity suite for the kids without the licensing fees.
ever tried to convince someone non-tech savvy to switch from chrome to Firefox? attitudes range from uninterested to impossible, despite the functionality being identical at worst. now try to do that with every single tool they’ve been using since they were in elementary school.
its a simple game plan. lock them into a data-harvesting ecosystem. collect their data. nudge their opinions. influence their votes.
so far, nobody’s talked about taking away computers. however, you’re correct in that taking them away is not a solution.
american schools are notoriously underfunded. google realized this a few years ago when they came out with the Chromebook lineup, which are dirt cheap entries into the google ecosystem. the hardware is not the problem, the data collection introduced to children in the guise of convenience at early stages is.
my preferred solution to that would be to introduce hardware outside of the google ecosystem. the issue is, very few companies can produce at scale in the way google can. any competitors would have to sell hardware below asking price to compete. its not feasible for small companies to do so. apple and Microsoft could, but they don’t have the same data collection ecosystem that google does for the same hardware subsidies.
another big reason small companies can’t compete is that the entire Gsuite is cloud based. all you need to access it is a browser. there’s not a single public school with the IT team to set up an open-source alternative, so schools are forced (or are enthusiastic about the opportunity) to get a full Microsoft-esque productivity suite for the kids without the licensing fees.
ever tried to convince someone non-tech savvy to switch from chrome to Firefox? attitudes range from uninterested to impossible, despite the functionality being identical at worst. now try to do that with every single tool they’ve been using since they were in elementary school.
its a simple game plan. lock them into a data-harvesting ecosystem. collect their data. nudge their opinions. influence their votes.