You will now hold an actual class debate on the topic 'Computers and Children: A Boon or a Bane'.

In groups of four decide whether your group is FOR or AGAINST the motion. Then draft your debate. Each member of the group must participate in the written as well as the spoken matter. The spoken matter can be divided thus

• One introduces the topic

• One discusses points favouring the motion

• One argues the opponent's points

• One concludes

Pointers have been provided for students' reference.

Computers and Children

Boon or bane

Boon:

1. The technology savvy children of today have accepted the computer as an integral part of their lives.

2. With the help of computers and internet, it is now much easier for children to access information of all sorts.

3. With the help of computers, education has become interesting. Children can now search any topic, for example science or social studies, under the sky with the help of search engines like Google and Yahoo.

4. Children learn new things faster and are up to date with the latest happenings around the globe.

5. E-learning is the latest trend these days. Various educational portals have come up. The purpose is to help children in their education.

Bane:

1. Computer is a machine that makes everything on the Internet so easily accessible that it is difficult to keep children away from things they are not supposed to know at a certain age.

2. Children spend much time in playing games or social networking rather than their education and learning.

3. As everything is just one click away, children are becoming lazy and have lost the habit of manually referring to books or even dictionary.

4. They like to spend much time on the computer rather than playing outdoor games. They do social networking only on the Internet rather than going out and playing with friends.

5. The new disease on the computer or to say Internet is the ‘virtual world’. It is a computer-based simulated environment. A user takes an avatar and lives it virtually on the computer. It has its own negative effects, the user starts losing grip on the real world.