Both political parties have promised the computer tablets will be given to school children; but there are vast differences between the promises made so far.
The Partit Laburista is promising a free tablet computer to Year IV schoolchildren. Some four thousands school children will benefit.
The Partit Nazzjonalista, on the other hand, will give a tablet to all primary and secondary school children and their teachers. The number of school children and teachers that will benefit will run into the tens of thousands.
Both parties said that the tablets would be given to children in government, private and church schools.
The Partit Laburista, according to reports in timesofmalta.com wants to give these tablets to improve the IT literacy of school children.
The Partit Nazzjonalista is far more ambitions even in its proposal on the use that these tablets would be put to. Its proposal goes beyond the Labour objective of improving IT literacy.
The Prime Minister said that that electronic format of school books would be provided. This would eliminate, for example and for starters, the problem of the baskets of enormous sizes that schoolchildren are forced to carry. This is not the main advantage. The Prime Minister also said that the tablets would be compatible with the smart electronic whiteboards that have been installed in schools. A tablet in the hands of every student is a move that would revolutionise education in Malta; and revolutionise it for the better.
Undoubtedly the technophobes among us, independently of their political allegiance will have a negative take on the technologizing of our educational system. In a piece I had written in The Sunday Times some two months ago I noted that in the United States this philosophy against technology is taken up by the Waldorfian educational philosophy. This belief states that education and technology do not mix. It is not a very popular belief so much so that there are only 160 Waldorf schools. In these schools one finds pens and paper, together with knitting needles but no computers or interactive boards or iPads or screens. The school authorities even frown on the use of such technology at home. The Waldorfian philosophy states that computers inhibit creative thinking, movement, human interaction and attention spans. The schools pride themselves on blackboards with colourful chalk, bookshelves with encyclopaedias and wooden desks filled with workbooks.
Anyone who says that computers inhibit creativity does not know what he or she is saying. One can hardly find a more creative and stimulating piece of technology than a computer, whatever form it takes: desk top, laptop, tablet or smart phone. Computers put us into instant contact with all the information we need or wish. They challenge us, open new vistas and offer us dynamic possibilities. Vast libraries are just a click away. Interactive games challenge our imagination. The list of advantages can go on and on.
Experiments have also shown that computers help literacy skills in students. Last October, Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman emeritus of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, discussed his the results of an experiment conducted in Ethiopia. They delivered fully loaded tablets to two villages in Ethiopia, one per child, with no instruction or instructional material whatsoever. Since the villages were not provided with an electricity supply they supplied a solar panel. The tablets contained, among other apps, an assortment of books, games, cartoons and movies. Negroponte explained that within minutes of arrival, the tablets were unboxed and turned on by the kids themselves. “They learned how to use them. After the first week, on average, 47 apps were used per day. After week two, the kids were playing games to race each other in saying the ABCs.” As Negroponte said if they learned how to read they can then read to learn.
The introduction of computer tablets on a massive scale in our educational system should help up to a qualitative leap forward.