Turkle - "From Powerful Ideas to PowerPoint" (DTC 475)

I read Sherry Turkle's article, "From Powerful Ideas to PowerPoint" http://www.mit.edu/~sturkle/pdfsforstwebpage/ST_From%20powerful%20ideas%20to%20powerpoint.pdf .

In her article, Turkle explains how people playing simulation (and other) games and not knowing the structure and programming behind them and those using powerpoint aren't experiencing all that they ought to be.
First of all, Turkle believes that people, especially children and teenagers, should know more about what happens beyond the screen in simulation and learning games. The "real stuff" is in the algorithms and programming code used in making these games. It's alright if a child or adult just "plays" the game for the heck of it, but it would be better if they knew why certain actions of the game occue and about how algorithms control aspects of each game. Children are not being taught this in the standard classrooms these days. As Turkle believes; children should be taught about the "depth and mechanism" of games, rather than just the exploration of the "world of shifting surfaces".
Turkle doesn't completely agree with PowerPoint as well. She likes the idea that children use PowerPoint at school as their parents use it at work. She states that children like the idea of using an "adult" computer tool. Turkle also states that PowerPoint helps students "organise their thoughts more effectively" in schoolwork. However, Turkle believes that PowerPoint has its flaws as well. It does not encourage arguments in material by children, which is very important for most adults to grasp onto. Also, PowerPoint lessens conversation with their presentations, because everything is already laid out on slides. Students make points that are told right there with "absolute authority" in the presentation(s) for the others to read and take notes on. Rarely does a child question what is in the PowerPoint presentation, so arguments and debates, whether pro or con about the material, are lacking.
I found Turkle's argument about children and how they should understand games and other software beyond the screen the most interesting in this article. I personally agree with Sherry Turkle on this. Children get too much into "just playing" games and not understanding why the games and their characters operate or act like they do. Children need to know more about the computer models and how things work with computers. Computers are more than looking at a monitor. There is much "beneath the surface".