Sony handmade CD player workshop for elementary schoolers

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
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http://translate.google.com/translate?p...mpress.co.jp/av/docs/20050829/sony.htm

Oh, so here?s what Japanese elementary school kids do during their summer vacation. Sony held a ?Handmade CD Player Workshop? at Sony ExploraScience (like SciTrek in Atlanta, but not closed) on the 27th and 28th, where elementary school kids grade 4 and above were asked to create their own ?CD? players. The players consisted of a body constructed from two CD storage cases, a wooden rotating platter, and an optical reader unit with an integrated speaker. The discs were made of paper, and featured black-colored ?pits? that were read by the optical sensor, which was capable of understand 8 different patterns. At the end of the session, the children were shown some Playstation 2 optical pickups so they could better grasp what they just learned. Now all we need to do is find an easy way to explain the whole HD DVD+-R/RW DL naming scheme mess to them.
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000357056555/

I know I should never say this but I feel like america is really lagging behind the rest of the world.
 

meltdown75

Lifer
Nov 17, 2004
37,548
7
81
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: meltdown75
wow, that's pretty impressive.


Doesn't that make you a bit jealous?
nah. i'm perfectly content with the Japanese being the techies. :p

i tried to take apart my Pac-Man game when I was a kid. it didn't go over very well. *shrug*
 

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
7
81
Originally posted by: meltdown75
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: meltdown75
wow, that's pretty impressive.


Doesn't that make you a bit jealous?
nah. i'm perfectly content with the Japanese being the techies. :p

i tried to take apart my Pac-Man game when I was a kid. it didn't go over very well. *shrug*

So why can't the Americans be techies too? (We once were the leader)
 

meltdown75

Lifer
Nov 17, 2004
37,548
7
81
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: meltdown75
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: meltdown75
wow, that's pretty impressive.


Doesn't that make you a bit jealous?
nah. i'm perfectly content with the Japanese being the techies. :p

i tried to take apart my Pac-Man game when I was a kid. it didn't go over very well. *shrug*

So why can't the Americans be techies too? (We once were the leader)
Obviously the educational system in the US has other priorities. Can't say myself. I predict this thread will pick up once people get their asses out of bed. I would venture to say that perhaps the US is doing this or something like it in certain schools, you just don't hear about it.
 

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
50,419
8
81
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: meltdown75
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: meltdown75
wow, that's pretty impressive.


Doesn't that make you a bit jealous?
nah. i'm perfectly content with the Japanese being the techies. :p

i tried to take apart my Pac-Man game when I was a kid. it didn't go over very well. *shrug*

So why can't the Americans be techies too? (We once were the leader)
We still are the leader in many aspects technologically speaking.

Space, military...

Just not consumer electronics.
 

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
7
81
Originally posted by: daniel1113
Sounds like free advertising for Sony...

Not really. But I wish more American Companies would do stuff like this.
 

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
7
81
Originally posted by: meltdown75
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: meltdown75
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: meltdown75
wow, that's pretty impressive.


Doesn't that make you a bit jealous?
nah. i'm perfectly content with the Japanese being the techies. :p

i tried to take apart my Pac-Man game when I was a kid. it didn't go over very well. *shrug*

So why can't the Americans be techies too? (We once were the leader)
Obviously the educational system in the US has other priorities. Can't say myself. I predict this thread will pick up once people get their asses out of bed. I would venture to say that perhaps the US is doing this or something like it in certain schools, you just don't hear about it.

Certain Schools? The Japs are teaching this stuff to (all) 3rd Graders! We barely got around to stuff like this in my 11th year of school.
 

hypn0tik

Diamond Member
Jul 5, 2005
5,866
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North American education is definitely behind compared to India, China, Japan and a few other countries in certain aspects (i.e. Math and Science). However, I feel that they are more well rounded and are exposed to many more fields of study. Having been to schools in both India and Canada, I can say that the standard of education is higher in India, while the quality of education is higher here.
 

Siva

Diamond Member
Mar 8, 2001
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0
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To learn about science and engineering in America you have to go on to college. School up to college teaches reading, writing, and math. The science programs you find in elementary, middle, and high schools are just terrible and teach next to nothing.
 

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
7
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Originally posted by: hypn0tik
North American education is definitely behind compared to India, China, Japan and a few other countries in certain aspects (i.e. Math and Science). However, I feel that they are more well rounded and are exposed to many more fields of study. Having been to schools in both India and Canada, I can say that the standard of education is higher in India, while the quality of education is higher here.

:confused:
Please explain to me your definintions:
[*]Standard of Education
[*]Quality of Education

It was my belief that a high standard led to a high quality education. What exatly do you mean by that?
 

hypn0tik

Diamond Member
Jul 5, 2005
5,866
2
0
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: hypn0tik
North American education is definitely behind compared to India, China, Japan and a few other countries in certain aspects (i.e. Math and Science). However, I feel that they are more well rounded and are exposed to many more fields of study. Having been to schools in both India and Canada, I can say that the standard of education is higher in India, while the quality of education is higher here.

:confused:
Please explain to me your definintions:
[*]Standard of Education
[*]Quality of Education

It was my belief that a high standard led to a high quality education. What exatly do you mean by that?

I was doing Trignometry in grade 7 in India whereas I didn't see it in Canada until grade 9 or 10. I would attribute something like this as a higher standard of education.

I was participating in intramural sports and was able to take courses such as home economics, giving me a more well rounded education. This is something I would attribute as higher quality education.

Can you see the difference? I don't think high standard would automatically imply high quality.
 

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
7
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Can you see the difference? I don't think high standard would automatically imply high quality.


I might understand your point of view, but there is a very thin line separating the two; They are very similar.
 

hypn0tik

Diamond Member
Jul 5, 2005
5,866
2
0
Originally posted by: Googer
Can you see the difference? I don't think high standard would automatically imply high quality.


I might understand your point of view, but there is a very thin line separating the two; They are very similar.

I guess this is analogous to the difference between standard of living and quality of life. One does not necessarily imply the other. In certain cases, there is a fine line between the two, while in others there is there is a clear distinction.

For example, if you live in a nice house, drive a nice car, and so on you can claim that you have a high standard of living, because your needs are easily met. However, if you can't find happiness even with all your amenities for example, you can't claim to have a high quality of life.

Edit: This link does a decent job of trying to highlight the difference. I on the other had did a relatively poor job.
 

EatSpam

Diamond Member
May 1, 2005
6,423
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Originally posted by: Googer
I know I should never say this but I feel like america is really lagging behind the rest of the world.

As Americans, our job is to be great consumers, to buy their products at Wal-Mart, and to make the American dream possible for everyone but ourselves. Its no surprise to me that while we're busy arguing science vs. religion, the rest of the world is passing us by.
 

EatSpam

Diamond Member
May 1, 2005
6,423
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Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: daniel1113
Sounds like free advertising for Sony...

Not really. But I wish more American Companies would do stuff like this.

There really aren't any more American companies to do stuff like this. All of our consumer electronics manufacturers were bought out.
 

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
7
81
Originally posted by: EatSpam
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: daniel1113
Sounds like free advertising for Sony...

Not really. But I wish more American Companies would do stuff like this.

There really aren't any more American companies to do stuff like this. All of our consumer electronics manufacturers were bought out.

What about IBM Teaching Silicon Semiconductor Fabrication to 4th graders? Or Texas Instruments explaining how DLP works to second graders? Seagate or Western Digital could do a similar demonstration with 3rd-5th grade kids.
 

EatSpam

Diamond Member
May 1, 2005
6,423
0
0
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: EatSpam
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: daniel1113
Sounds like free advertising for Sony...

Not really. But I wish more American Companies would do stuff like this.

There really aren't any more American companies to do stuff like this. All of our consumer electronics manufacturers were bought out.

What about IBM Teaching Silicon Semiconductor Fabrication to 4th graders? Or Texas Instruments explaining how DLP works to second graders? Seagate or Western Digital could do a similar demonstration with 3rd-5th grade kids.

Those companies are Indian, Chinese, ???, and Malaysian, respectively. The only thing American about those companies is their executives and shareholders.