computers to help boost their education is actually a waste of time and a bad idea!US education authorities have said according to the report in New York Times that if a kid gets a computer they will not turn into programming geniuses and would rather play games.
The problem has been noticed, apparently when educationalitsts checked to see if giving PCs to low income kids would bring in any socio-economic change.
The educationalists claimed that by doing so the poor kids had lower test scores after having access to the computer at home.
“We were surprised to discover that a free computer in the house had a negative effect on academic achievement”, said Ofer Malamud, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago.
Although the kids had lower scores there was a plus side – they all had improved computer skills. Few kids said they used the machines for homework but they did use it daily to play games.
Other studies show that the expansion of broadband service was associated with a pronounced drop in test scores for black kids in reading and maths, but no effect on the maths scores and little on the reading scores of other students.
Sure initially kids might be affected by computers and be involved with gaming but it can have both positive and negative effects on kids. I think everything goes back to how parents treat and react to the situation. It is much better than giving them a PS3 or an Xbox!
You can read more here.