Literature on the HOT Debate
by Stephanie Fineman
Publications That Argue Against the Use of Computers in Education
Ever since the computer craze bagan to take shape, there have been educators, researchers, as well as other critical thinkers who have questioned the overall value of computers in education. Some publications have brought up the issue of the segregated student population, based on the widespread incorporation of computers in the curriculum. Robert A. DeVillar and Christian J. Faltis, authors of Computers and Cultural Diversity argue that low-income minority students and girls have vastly different experiences with the computer than middle-class male students (vii). In Using the Computers in Education, Watson cites W.C. Meirhenry from his book Computers in Education, in a discussion about some other disadvantages to utilization of computers in the classroom. Meirhenry points out the primary concerns as "the dehumanization of the student, invasion of his privacy, lack of good terminal interfaces, that we may be tempted… to completely individualize instruction, failing to realize that many decisions are made in our society in small groups, and the lack of a natural language with which one can converse with the computer"(41). Robert O. McClintock, in the book The Computer in Education: A Critical Perspective, asserts the faddish quality of the computer and warns that we must think critically about the implication of the computer in the classroom or we will have irreversible consequences to pay.
Publications That Support the Use of Computers in Education
Many other analysts have argued for the widespread use of computers in the classroom. They believe that the computer will facilitate a smarter student, with access to a plethora of knowledge at his fingertips. In the book Computer and the Child, Peter G. Gebhardt-Seele discusses the forecast of analyst Marvin Cetron. Cetron believes that computers are becoming a crucial part of the workplace. In order to keep up with the pace every person must become computer literate. Gebhardt-Seele goes on to argue that children must be well aquainted with the computer in order to have a successful future. He also points out that children do not experience as much stress in dealing with computers as adults do. (7). Bernard J. Poole also advocates computer use in the classroom in Education for an Information Age. He affirms that "the computer is a tool that supports research, enables discovery, stimulates invention, fosters environmental and organizational control, and facilitates communication between individuals and groups, which in turn foster understanding, cooperation, and accord" (65). For every cry in protest of computers saturating the educational environment, there seems to be an equally loud cheer from those excited by its prospects.
For further reading on the subject of computers in education, check out these informative sites on the Web!
Technological Literacy: A National Priority
http://www.ed.gov/Technology/Plan/NatTechPlan/priority.html
National Center for Educational Statistics
Getting America's Students Ready for the 21st Century: Meeting the Technology Literacy Challenge
http://www.ed.gov/Technology/Plan/
U.S. Department of Education- Office of Educational Technology
Traditional Uses of Technology
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformsStudies/EdTech/traditionaluses.html
Welcome to tales from the Electronic Frontier
Resource Guide to Federal Funding For Technology in Education
http://www.ed.gov/Technology/tec-guid.html
Works Cited
Devillar, Robert A., and Christian J. Faltis. Computers and Cultural Diversity: Restructoring for School Success. Albany:
State Univerity of New York Press, 1991.
Gebhardt-Seele, Peter G. The Computer and the Child: A Montessori Approach. Maryland: Computer Science Press, 1985.
Olson, John. Schoolworlds/Microworlds: Computers and the Culture of the Classroom. Iowa: Brown and Benchmark, 1995.
Sloan, Douglas. "Introduction: On Raising Critical Questions About the Computer in Education." Computer in Education: A
Critical Perspective. Ed. Douglas Sloan. New York: Teachers College Press, 1984, 1985. 1-4.