For Microsoft, Windows 10 Charity Begins At Home 74
theodp writes: "We're investing $10 million in organizations that are upgrading the world," Microsoft announced on in its new Upgrade Your World website, which was created in conjunction with the Windows 10 launch. "We've identified nine global nonprofits, and we'd like your help choosing the 10th." The missions of the selected nonprofits include fighting global poverty, preventing children living with HIV from needlessly dying, increasing access to quality education for children in the developing world, conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends, and ensuring that all kindergartners learn 'computer science.' To paraphrase Sesame Street, can you guess which cause is not like the others? If you guessed Code.org, which wants CS made a "core" K-12 subject in U.S. schools, you're right! Coincidentally, Code.org's biggest donors include Microsoft ($3M+), Ballmer Family Giving ($3M+), and Bill Gates ($1M+). And Code.org CEO Hadi Partovi, who once reported to Satya Nadella, is coincidentally a sometimes jogging partner of Steve Ballmer, as well as the next-door neighbor of Microsoft General Counsel and Code.org Board member Brad Smith, whose FWD.us bio notes is responsible for Microsoft's philanthropic work. Code.org emerged on the scene shortly after Smith suggested that action on Microsoft's 'two-pronged' National Talent Strategy to increase K-12 CS education and the number of H-1B visas could be galvanized by 'producing a crisis'.
kindergartners? (Score:3, Insightful)
" ...conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends, and ensuring that all kindergartners learn 'computer science.' "
How about we start teaching our kindergartners "critical thinking" instead?
Re: kindergartners? (Score:4, Informative)
They can't even do basic addition without using their fingers. And yet you want to teach them critical thinking? Idiot.
In the US, today, kindergarten is what 1st grade used to be. The emphasis is on reading and math. They aren't allowed to count on their fingers after pre-school. That said, the structures in the brain that allow for critical thinking aren't formed until around the age of 7, so it isn't really useful to attempt to teach critical thinking skills, except at a most rudimentary level, in kindergarten.
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Re: kindergartners? (Score:4, Informative)
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That said, the structures in the brain that allow for critical thinking aren't formed until around the age of 7, so it isn't really useful to attempt to teach critical thinking skills, except at a most rudimentary level, in kindergarten.
Yeah, and the structures in the brain that allow for learning computer science aren't formed either. If you're going to teach something that that young brains can't handle, I'll choose critical thinking over computer science *every* *fucking* *time*.
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That said, the structures in the brain that allow for critical thinking aren't formed until around the age of 7, so it isn't really useful to attempt to teach critical thinking skills, except at a most rudimentary level, in kindergarten.
Yeah, and the structures in the brain that allow for learning computer science aren't formed either.
I would concur with that, at least structured programming. OTOH, young people do quite well with Logos and derivatives there of.
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I would concur with that, at least structured programming. OTOH, young people do quite well with Logos and derivatives there of.
Apparently they do much better with tablets [theguardian.com] than legos or building blocks. Swiping is more important than constructing these days.
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I would concur with that, at least structured programming. OTOH, young people do quite well with Logos and derivatives there of.
Apparently they do much better with tablets [theguardian.com] than legos or building blocks. Swiping is more important than constructing these days.
I was referring to the various programming languages for young children that have been around since the late 60s.
As for swiping versus building things, it's too soon to tell how that will developmentally manifest itself in the adult population. "Building things" is prevalent in many cultures and is probably an inherited trait in the human genome. Even other primates exhibit the trait to some degree. So, substituting tablets will be an interesting social experiment.
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I was referring to the various programming languages for young children that have been around since the late 60s.
ORLY?
What programming languages for young children were around in the late 60s? Name ONE. Name ONE kindergarten or primary school that was teaching ANY programming language to young children the late 60s. Name ONE high school that was teaching ANY programming language to students in the late 60s. Name ONE UNIVERSITY teaching undergrads a programming language in the late 60s.
You either have a very different definition of "young children" than the rest of the world, or you have absolutely no idea what yo
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Development began in 1969.
Great! When has it been taught in schools to young people?
Since you're an asshole with poor reading comprehension: being around since the late 60s does not mean it's been in use since the late 60s.
Yeah, that's kinda my point. Thanks for reiterating it.
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I was referring to the various programming languages for young children that have been around since the late 60s.
ORLY?
What programming languages for young children were around in the late 60s? Name ONE. Name ONE kindergarten or primary school that was teaching ANY programming language to young children the late 60s. Name ONE high school that was teaching ANY programming language to students in the late 60s. Name ONE UNIVERSITY teaching undergrads a programming language in the late 60s.
You either have a very different definition of "young children" than the rest of the world, or you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
I believe that Logo was invented by MIT in 1967. With it, a child could give it simple commands to move a cursor to draw various shapes. I think it was called turtle graphics or something like that. It was demoed with five year olds drawing simple geometric shapes and older children producing Spirograph type drawings (although still pretty simple and crude by today's standards). By the mid-to late 70s, it was available on the Apple II, C64 and other microcomputers.
Being available for use and actually being
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Being available for use and actually being used are obviously two different things. However, it definitely could be used if somebody chose to do so beyond MIT.
You've completely missed the point. It's not about when a teaching tool was invented, it's about when it was utilized in front of what age group.
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Quite some smartass we have there, haven't we.
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Shut up you piece of shit!
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Shut up you piece of shit!
LOL! You're a postdoc in philosophy, right? Nice!
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Sendmail.cf is extra credit these days?
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" ...conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends, and ensuring that all kindergartners learn 'computer science.' "
How about we start teaching our kindergartners "critical thinking" instead?
Republicans and Conservatives would hate that.
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Government would hate that.
FTFY
ps - why the cap on "conservatives"? RU1?
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Government would hate that.
FTFY
ps - why the cap on "conservatives"? RU1?
Nope not R or C, but I live in SE Virginia and seem them all around... Fucking over the country as a whole and specifically anyone who's not rich, white, and heterosexual (all of which which I actually am) - because "'muh Freedoms!" and "let's leave things to the scientists" (but only those that agree with us, otherwise science and scientists are bad/wrong). Fucking fucktards.
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Government would hate that.
FTFY
ps - why the cap on "conservatives"? RU1?
Nope not R or C, but I live in SE Virginia and seem them all around... Fucking over the country as a whole and specifically anyone who's not rich, white, and heterosexual (all of which which I actually am) - because "'muh Freedoms!" and "let's leave things to the scientists" (but only those that agree with us, otherwise science and scientists are bad/wrong). Fucking fucktards.
I know, right? If only SE VA would implement more liberal policies. Worked great in Detroit - err Baltimore, MD., err I mean Chicago.. NVM
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Critical thinking is a pseudo-science and pseudo-didactics invented by anti-scientistic intellectuals and shabby pedagogues who tend to vigorously oppose to any solid training in math and logic.
At least that's my impression after having been exposed to a research group in argumentation, critical thinking and "informal logic" at our university for the past five years or so. (I'm a postdoc in philosophy.) Please don't teach it anywhere. Teach mathematics and classical statistics instead.
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At least that's my impression after having been exposed to a research group in argumentation, critical thinking and "informal logic" at our university for the past five years or so.
That's a long time to be exposed to a research group. Did they drip water on your forehead for the entire 5 years?
I'm a postdoc in philosophy.
Of course you are.
Only an over educated ivory tower egghead would disparage the SKILL (not science) of critical thinking. Go back to sucking the pseudo-dicks of your pseudo-thesis pseudo-committee and leave the real world to the rest of us.
If you don't get a job in academia, I look forward to giving you some change at a popular intersection where you're holding up a sign begging for food.
Ch
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That's a long time to be exposed to a research group. Did they drip water on your forehead for the entire 5 years?
No, but they said things that were almost as stupid as your post.
Only an over educated ivory tower
Go fuck yourself, little asshole.
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No, but they said things that were almost as stupid as your post.
Wait...I thought you said the research group you were exposed to positively shaped your thinking. Did you benefit from the research group's didactics or were your professors stupid as well?
Perhaps you should re-take Logic 101 (that is if you took it to begin with).
Go fuck yourself, little asshole.
For a Philosophy PhD candidate, you sure have some weak logic skills. Care to make an actual argument?
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No, but they said things that were almost as stupid as your post.
Wait...I thought you said the research group you were exposed to positively shaped your thinking. Did you benefit from the research group's didactics or were your professors stupid as well?
I've said the opposite. So much for your reading skills. And yes, unfortunately there are fairly stupid professors in philosophy, but they are nowhere near as stupid as the leading scholars in argumentation theory and critical thinking whom I've met.
Perhaps you should re-take Logic 101 (that is if you took it to begin with).
I am a logician.
Go fuck yourself, little asshole.
For a Philosophy PhD candidate, you sure have some weak logic skills. Care to make an actual argument?
I did my Ph.D. ten years ago and work as a senior researcher at a research facility since then. Sure I can make actual arguments, but as Mark Twain said so eloquently:
Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.
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I've said the opposite. So much for your reading skills.
...mmm, so you spent the past five years or so listening to stupid scholars in argumentation theory and critical thinking? Good for you. Excuse me for not wanting to believe anyone would waste that much of their time listening to people they detest.
I am a logician.
That explains your "Go fuck yourself, little asshole" comment quite nicely, doesn't it?
Sure I can make actual arguments, but as Mark Twain said so eloquently:
Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.
Yet here you are on slashdot telling little assholes to go fuck themselves. Your employer is really getting their money's worth.
What is it you do again? Besides taking up
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Critical thinking is a pseudo-science and pseudo-didactics invented by anti-scientistic intellectuals and shabby pedagogues who tend to vigorously oppose to any solid training in math and logic.
What the fuck does that mean? If you don't want to be written off as a crank, you'd better explain yourself.
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
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The Steve Ballmer Institute: No one knows what condition afflicts steve ballmer. Hes a man once known to hurl furniture in fits of paranoid delusion, only to emerge days later caked in sweat and howling a chant of 'developers' over and over, in a schitzophrenic episode. The Ballmer institute seeks to heal by studying and, in time, formulating a treatment for this rare and profoundly sad disease.
It's a nice idea, but their suggested treatment is just repeating the word "doctors" ad nauseum.
Re:other charitable causes (Score:4, Funny)
The Steve Ballmer Institute: No one knows what condition afflicts steve ballmer. Hes a man once known to hurl furniture in fits of paranoid delusion, only to emerge days later caked in sweat and howling a chant of 'developers' over and over, in a schitzophrenic episode. The Ballmer institute seeks to heal by studying and, in time, formulating a treatment for this rare and profoundly sad disease.
It's a nice idea, but their suggested treatment is just repeating the word "doctors" ad nauseum.
Or stop using Windows. That seems to help calm my desire to hurl furniture a LOT.
sco? (Score:2)
The bigger question is who is the OP? (Score:5, Insightful)
And how do his summaries keep getting through?
This is the second incomprehensible summary accepted from this user this week about Microsoft and Code.org. The first was "Well-Played: Microsoft Parlayed NSF Video 'Remake' into National CS K-12 Crisis" ( http://developers.slashdot.org... [slashdot.org] ) and now this.
Apparently he's been at this for a while, too. Here's a Gawker article about the mystery of TheoDP from 2006: http://gawker.com/178280/the-m... [gawker.com]
Does he have dirt on the Slashdot editors?
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i think it's obvious to anyone paying attention that programming should be introduced to children
finland knows what's up
https://www.reddit.com/r/progr... [reddit.com]
we're talking about things like scratch: https://scratch.mit.edu/ [mit.edu]
if/ then, while loops. simple stuff, not even bubble sort, not complicated algorithms
but then you see this in the summary:
so there
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seriously, slashdot is beginning to reek of depends undergarments
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perhaps
Game: How much crap fits in a summary! (Score:3)
I didn't bother reading anything but the summary, because the summary takes every possible approach attempting paint criminals and scum as good for society. MS is lobbying for he wrong things for the sole reason of making more money. The 10mil is peanuts compared to companies which make a lot less profits without screwing over neighbors for "moh money"
Surely Gates, Balmer and even Microsoft could pay back society.. but this is not a a payment at all.. it is business as usual.
Choose charities carefully (Score:2)
Leave it to Slashdot (Score:1)
Re:Leave it to Slashdot (Score:5, Insightful)
Leave it to Slashdot to make Microsoft giving 10 million dollars to charity seem like a bad thing...
Look. Charities have a lot things to deal with already, having to use Windows shouldn't be one of them.
If charity starts at home, will M$ hire US Citizen (Score:1)
or will they continue hiring L1 visa holders bringing them to Redmond from their Vancouver office, replacing US Citizens with cheap labor?
Really? (Score:2)
I've given to MS 'Charity' (their shareholders) each time I bought a computer the last 25 years, if I wanted or not.
Not another one! (Score:2)
For goodness sake, how many of theodp's anti-CS education opinion pieces is slashdot going to post? This is getting absurd!