Kids and Computers

January 17, 2012 by Ben Yoskovitz 9 Comments

I got into computers fairly early because of my father. He went back to university in 1986 in his early 40s and did a BSc. in Computer Science. I was 11 years old. Our first computer was a PC of some kind; I don’t remember what it was, but I remember it was expensive, $7,000+ or so. My father then went on to work “in computers” for 15 years. I say “in computers” because that’s what everyone called it back then, it was easier than explaining what he really did.

Strangely enough, I didn’t really get into programming. I’m not sure why, it seems like it would have been a natural fit. But I did get a very healthy appreciation for technology, and was well ahead of my friends. I remember BBSs and later on MUDs (which I still love, although don’t play. I even started coding in C and C++ for a MUD that I was running; it was insanely fun.) I remember going to a summer camp where we learned Logo.

At the time, computers weren’t particularly prominent in schools. They existed, but all we were really doing was word processing. I remember Typing Tutor from “computer class” in high school where kids were just learning how to type. Pretty silly by today’s standards.

Today, my seven year old son in Grade 2 has computers in his class. Some schools are experimenting with iPads at even younger ages. A lot more kids will grow up with a lot more technology. That’s a given; there’s a lot more technology that’s easily accessible. But unless the education system starts teaching programming in schools, a lot of that technology will go to waste.

Almost five years ago I wrote 10 Things They Need to Teach in Highschool. I should have put programming at the top of the list, instead of the bottom.

But more than teaching programming, we need to encourage and incentivize kids to create things. Build things. Invent things. Knowing the mechanics of coding is one thing, but being inspired, motivated and rewarded for building stuff is key. That’s what will help create more entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are builders. We like to build things. I was inspired by my parents and what they had done as entrepreneurs, and I’m sure there’s some genetics involved as well … but kids spend so much time in school and can be so influenced by their years there that I’m certain more could be done. Teach kids to code. And teach kids to build. Actually, I think most kids already know how to build, and a lot of kids want to build stuff … but they need the educational system to endorse and reward their activity, otherwise they can’t get through the system successfully. It’s not as simple as saying, “get out of the way” because the system is the way, and at least while kids are in school (particularly in the earlier years) they have to play by the rules. So the rules need to change.

Denis Canuel

Check out Microsoft Kodu: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/kodu/
and also Mindstorm by Lego.

Both are great for young, and not so young, kids!
Kathysierra

I agree on “teach kids to code, teach kids to build things”, and had my two daughters coding and building by the age of 4. But the problem is *not* that we need to “incentivize and reward” for kids doing this. We all know, both intuitively and through decades of studies, that “building things” is intrinsically rewarding. Coding, creating, playing with building tools virtual or physical are ALL intrinsically rewarding, and as long as the tools and feedback are working, *deeply motivating on their own*.

On this, the research is clear: to incentivize/reward these intrinsically rewarding activities can lead to a DEmotivating effect. Please please read Drive again, or watch the Ted talk, or better yet — re-read the latest research related to this. Because rewarding the very behaviors we hope to encourage could be a counterintuitively damaging path. There are many “safe” ways to create better contexts for kids to experience and thus discover the intrinsic joy of learning to code and build things — ways that do not carry the risk of DEmotivating this behavior.

The studies on why this matters have been going on for more than 40 years, by a wide range of researchers, and the results have been grouped most clearly under Self-Determination Theory. And even animals are not immune to the potential damaging effect of rewards/incentives in these special areas of activities that are themselves intrinsically rewarding. Incentivizing and rewarding behavior was proven by Skinner to work stunningly well for behaviors that are NOT themselves intrinsically rewarding, which is why we can safely apply gamification to things like exercise, but when rewards are given for behaviors that require cognitive effort including creativity, we find the opposite: the behavior shifts almost instantly to one that LOOKS engaged but is measurably less creative and motivating.

Examples: kids given awards for drawing immediately began drawing fewer pictures and the pictures they drew were less complex. Monkeys given their favorite treats for solving wooden puzzles (which they enjoyed) instantly began taking longer to solve the puzzles and showed less interest in the puzzles. Writers shown a LIST of incentives and rewards (but not actually given any) immediately began writing less sophisticated poems. That’s just a tiny subset of the kinds of repeatable, clear studies of the damaging effect of extrinsic rewards when used in a particular way on the small subset of behaviors that are themselves intrinsically rewarding.
Benjamin Yoskovitz

Kathy – Thanks for the comment. Very much appreciated. I’ll definitely dig into the research more. I guess the point I was trying to make was that the education system needs to actively incorporate “building things” into its educational programs. We need a system that makes it more than OK to “build things” but is designed around it.
custom shirts

they way computers and technology is presented these days is totally different and we can use it to take many new advantages, creativity is the basic ingredient we require from a child to go explore and touch endless possibilities…
Troll Bilimi

Thanks for sharing.
Kitti

I have my first computer in 17 years))
Pingback: Kids and Computers | InnovationKeg()
Pingback: Building Startup Ecosystems Outside of Silicon Valley()
Pingback: Building Startup Ecosystems Outside of Silicon Valley - I Look Good In Design()

Instigator Blog

Lean Analytics, startups, angel investing, product management and more!

Kids and Computers

Ben Yoskovitz

Buy Lean Analytics

Get updates