[IAEP] NetDispenser Project

[James Cameron]

Internet access costs are falling rapidly.

"Kids earn their internet access" ... internet access as a currency
has a very dynamic price, as access is sold, gifted, or shared by
people at random times and with random pricing.  Motivation rapidly
collapses in a dynamic price environment.

Unpredictability of access creates a dopamine hit similar to poker
machine gambling.  Best outcomes for non-addiction are seen from
unrestricted and consistently available access at low cost.  Lowest
cost for a child is adult-organised access by their care giver.

Monetary achievements can work for some children, but only where they
can operate in a free and open economy.  As economies vary in their
support for children, my preference is to concentrate on the utility
of the software and exclude consideration of considerations.

The license of Sugar and activities does not prevent your charge per
use model, as the source code remains accessible and free to anyone
who chooses to escape a walled garden.

So this project would seem to be orthogonal to Sugar, and there's no
stepping on toes anticipated.

May I suggest the following improvements;

1.  provide for a way for the kids to exchange credits with each
other, which will give the money more value, and;

2.  add AI to detect inevitable gaming of the system,

Learning under duress has a long history, so I don't see a problem
with learning still happening within a monetary system.

As a mechanism for remote supervision of children by an absent care
giver, it does not seem likely to succeed.  Use cameras and
microphones instead, combined with _random_ feedback to the children
on what is observed.

-- 
James Cameron
http://quozl.netrek.org/