US/ND-4: COMPUTERS IN SCHOOLS: PLAYTHING OF FUTURISTS?

COMPUTERS IN SCHOOLS: PLAYTHING OF FUTURISTS?

Patricia F. Lewis (pflewis@nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu)
Sun, 15 Sep 1996 21:06:45 -0400 

Hi Eeveryone -- 

This is from the latest Culture in Cyberspace Newsletter.  Thought this
group would find it interesting...

BTW -- this is my first post to the group -- I've been trying to keep up
with the reading and I'm finding everyone's posts very intresting, but it's
been hard with school starting along with this seminar!!  Anyway, everyone's
comments are very helpful to me as I start writing two papers this semester
-- both on the comments submitted in response to the universal service NPRM.
I was particularly interested in the recent comments about SCANS, as I wrote
a little bit about them as they related to computers and the Internet in a
paper last semester.  Also, does anyone know where I can get my own copy of
that report?  I've looked for it on the DOL site, but it's not there.

Patty

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COMPUTERS IN SCHOOLS: PLAYTHING OF FUTURISTS? 

Writing in the Washington Post (9/10/96), Colman McCarthy takes
a skeptical look at the rush to put computers in classrooms.  "While
awaiting this new age of enlightenment," he writes, "it would help if
someone besides the CEOs of computer corporations and their
consultants to school districts came forward with evidence that
plugging children into the Internet will enhance their educational
lives and develop their moral character."

As far as McCarthy is concerned, there is more of a case for
keeping computers out of schools. "At the moment,
technology-based education is the plaything of futurists who have
little more than speculations and dreams about the benefits of
plug-in learning.... Schools are crowded with children saturated and
overstimulated by [media technology]... that sink them into
stupored boredom when a teacher talks for more than five minutes
and can't be channel-surfed away by a clicker."

McCarthy concludes with words that would make Cliff Stoll beam.
"Resisting the computer revolution, and the big money behind it,
means taking a stand for the most radical education notion of all:
For intellectual sustenance, character development, a grounding in
self-discipline and exposure to a motivating adult, children need
schools with dedicated teachers, not schools dedicated to
computers."
WashPost: <http://www.washingtonpost.com/>

Copyright 1996 by William G. LeFurgy;  all rights reserved. 
Excerpts and sample copies may be distributed for non-commercial
use so long as they are attributed and provide the CinC e-mail
address (wlefurgy@radix.net). 

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Patricia Figliola Lewis
  University of Florida	                    
  PhD Student, Telecom Policy & Law
  http://grove.ufl.edu:80/~pflewis/
  pflewis@nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu

  Connect our children to the future --
  Get involved in NetDay!!!
  http://www.netday.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~