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“A 1996 poll of
US teachers found that they ranked computer skills and media technology
as more “essential” than the study of European history, biology,
chemistry, and physics; than dealing with social problems such as drugs
and family breakdown; than learning practical job skills; and than
reading modern American writers such as Steinbeck and Hemmingway or
classic ones such as Plato and Shakespeare.”
-The Atlantic Monthly, July 1997
If you would like to
know more about responsible use of technology in schools, you can contact
Learning in the Real World at (530) 661-9240 or on-line at www.realworld.org. |
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Computers
in the Classroom: At What Cost?
 Our
first question when contemplating changing the educational tools we use to
teach children should be, "will this change help students
learn?" Unfortunately, many school districts have emptied their
coffers to buy computer equipment in the absence of any conclusive
evidence that computers help kids learn better.
Despite computers'
dubious value, everyone from the president to local school board members
frantically tells us that we must have technology in schools. Schools have
been known to cut music, art, and physical education programs in the race
to buy new computer paraphernalia. All this is happening in the face of
recent studies showing art and music lessons help develop children's
reasoning skills and that more American children are overweight than ever
before.
Most parents and
teachers know that computers are expensive up front, but few realize how
expensive they will be down the road. The government's plan to put
computers in every classroom would require up to $100 billion initial
investment, but this astounding figure is only half the story. Every year
thereafter it will take roughly $33 billion to maintain them - enough
money for a lot of art, music and physical education.
While Americans
contemplate spending billions on new computers and software, experts say
most educational software is useless. Wayne Spies, a computer science
professor in Connecticut who acts as computer consultant for his
children's schools, reports "95% of educational computer programs
aren't worth buying." He points out that most programs are designed
by computer jocks lacking knowledge of child development and basic
educational methods. Teachers rush to buy what Spies calls "happy
bunny" programs because they naïvely assume that the programs adults
use are too complex for children. The program to which he refers displays
a cartoon rabbit whenever a child types a sentence with a noun, verb and
punctuation mark.
The reason why
teachers do not always make the most informed decisions about computer
purchases is because most of them have had little computer training.
Education schools have been slow to make computer literacy a requirement
for prospective teachers and older teachers can be virtually
technologically illiterate. Since few teachers have been taught to
incorporate computers into their lesson plans, computers are often
relegated to the back of the classroom to run remedial programs or to
collect dust.
While paying for
computers that teachers do not use sounds like a dreadful waste, the
misuse of computers, especially with younger children, could be worse.
Many teachers report and studies increasingly confirm that extensive use
of computers by young children stunts their imaginations, shortens their
attention spans, and creates the illusion that all learning should be
instant, passive and fun.
Computer usage by
older students can be more productive, but parents should still be wary.
The Internet has been lauded as the best research tool ever, but
supporters fail to mention that the Internet contains a lot of trash
packaged to look like reliable information. On the other hand, information
found in traditional reference materials is widely overlooked by today's
students. One Oregon teacher reports teaching high school freshman who had
never opened an encyclopedia. They referred to the Encyclopaedia
Britannica as "the big books next to the CD-ROMs."
The bottom line is
that computers are tools. We need to evaluate how best to use them. Like
movies, radio, and television that proceeded them, computers, despite
their initial popularity, will never replace good teachers. Because of the
enormous expense of new technology, schools have to be particularly savvy
about obtaining computers and not get carried away by the fantastic
promises of technology companies and others looking for any easy fix to
education woes.
[Link to: related USAToday.com
article.]
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