Make Makers of Students Tell Me More / Commentary #npredchat

Dear Miss Martin and Mr. Gusman,

I was listening to your show, Disrupting Class To Make Way For Technology. I appreciated your discussion of technology and access to learning modern tools to educate our children. Expensive tools such as Apple products, especially iPads limit access to  technology. Not only do they cost 2-3 times what an open source tablet would cost, one running Linux or Android, but they are designed so that the student may not be allowed to delve into them deeply, removing memory, replacing the operating system, and so forth. If they are just using the tablet as a mere User, instead of digging into how the tablets actually work, they are limiting the amount of access to depth of learning these tools can otherwise provide. An iPad needlessly imposes limits on what Students can learn, never mind their expensive price tag. By contrast, one can buy a generic tablet for around $70 retail.

There are several very affordable areas of technology that is largely ignored by school systems. Everything on the below list is Open Source, free to use without buying a license. They are interoperable. They are relatively inexpensive in terms of the actual hardware as well as the related manuals and books that may enhance a learning environment. All of them have huge communities for support.

Perhaps a great view into this area is expressed by this article:
With a mix of Arduino, Raspberry Pi and fun, Maker Box hopes to bolster Africa's future tech skills

Here are some keywords to read about these areas that can easily be introduced into schools at very little expense.

Arduino

Linux / Android

Raspberry Pi

Make Magazine

Python Tutorial

Using Python in a High School Computer Science Program

Other FREE Online Tutorial "Schools" http://www.codecademy.com
http://www.w3schools.com/

One of the most disruptive repositories of technology is housed within the Open Source Ecology  website. "

The Global Village Construction Set (GVCS) is a modular, DIY, low-cost, high-performance platform that allows for the easy fabrication of the 50 different Industrial Machines that it takes to build a small, sustainable civilization with modern comforts. - See more here

Product Review: ASICMiner Block Erupter Cube Bitcoin Miner: Great Design, High Performance, & ZERO Hardware Assembly Quality Control!

 
 >>Warning<< You do need basic computer hardware (A+ related knowledge) to get these repaired and functioning.
Do NOT turn these on without opening the case and inspecting the integrity of the screw torques, seating of the cards, and the attachment of the heatsink. You could literally fry one if you turn it on without opening them to inspect and repair.

That said.. These are wonderful devices, from a number of perspectives.
- They perform at 38 to 42ghash. We regularly get up to 42ghash on Bitminter, and rarely dip below 38ghash.
- The cases all fit together nice and neat. No need to fiddle with any erector sets as with some other products.
- Config UI is up to par.
- Cooling Fan does it's job.

Cons -
- These were priced at $1170 not more than 3 weeks before this review. As of today, they are at $650.
- Two vendors have both sent product that required disassembly/reassembly. One vendor claimed to have delayed shipping to inspect the units. If that is true, they need to polish their inspection skill set. ;-)
--Without exception, the Units arrived with parts rattling around in the case, two screws actually fell out of one of the devices.
-- Most had to have all the internal cards reseated.
-- Several heat sinks were not firmly attached to the boards, greatly reducing their heat removal efficiency.
Other comments:
All  units had heatsink screws that were NOT torqued. The thermal conduit layer between the sink and the board possesses a modulus of elasticity which should degrade the prospect of the screws becoming loosened due to lifespan.  That was 4 out of four screws on every board of every unit. Only one unit did not have any screws rolling around although 1 screw was only half way in.