Julia Kiss’ Blog

The following post is written in regard to a paper titled “The computer dellusion” by Todd Openheimer, 1997, which looks to evaluate the reality behind using computers to enhance student learning.

Having had read numerous articles and papers along with other blogs regarding ICT and learning it is only natural to come across a paper that summises, and right fully so, that there is no actual evidence that computers in classrooms improve teaching and learning. So the question really is… are we making the right move in pushing mutlimedia and ICT in our classrooms or are we just being naive in thinking that computers will solve all of our teaching and learning woes? Is it really worth it? Are we subsidising real teaching and learning from past techniques to make way for some insiduos form of software? Or is this an earnest push to a new and brilliant pathway for learning? Are we being real or dellusional?

“In a poll taken early last year U.S. teachers 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 Hemingway or classic ones such as Plato and Shakespeare”. Even for myself, an individual who believes in the teaching, learning capabilities of computers thinks this statement goes a bit far. I can’t help but think when i read statistics such as this… why does everyone have to go so far? Why do people have to be so one sided… i think what we need is a great big hoard of fence sitters. I mean is is really neccessary to have to take out Shakespeare and disengage students from important social and personal issues in order to implement computers in a plausible way. Why can’t we do both? I mean its more about enhancing learning of such topics through the use of computers not one or the other.

“I know some who went to college, graduated, and then had to go back to technical school to get a job.” Well how about those students who go through school learn everything there is about atoms, roman medieval history and the lifecycle of the mosquito to find they have to go back to college to learn how to use the computer. At the present moment in time it is definetly true that as a society we have a great need to for trade skilled individuals, however this should not impact on giving students the ability to also be educated into a, and we have to admit this, increasingly digitized and ICT framed workplace.

Sherry Turkle, a professor of the sociology of science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology states that “The possibilities of using this thing (computers) poorly so outweigh the chance of using it well, it makes people like us, who are fundamentally optimistic about computers, very reticent.” Unfortunate as it is to admit this is very true. Teachers must understand that just using a computer to use one is not what it is all about. Teachers also need to understand that students need to be made aware of the pitfalls of computers and the Internet and for this to happen teachers need to be aware themselves. This is the biggest problem.

Clifford Stoll, author, stated that “We loved them because we didn’t have to think for an hour, teachers loved them because they didn’t have to teach, and parents loved them because it showed their schools were high-tech. But no learning happened.” Is this really the way we see computers… if it is its pretty dismal. A large problem with the state of the “digital world” today is that we know how important computers and other digital media is we just dont have the proper capacities to utilise it within the classroom. We could say that what we are trying to teach is not in correlation with the way we are wanting to teach. As i have said before, here in NSW Australia, the science curriculum is way out of touch and needs a revamp asap if we want to bring it into the new century.

No matter what happens we shall just have to agree to disagree as i dont think society shall ever agree upon “what is important for us to know and learn”. I think we can all safely say that computers are not the be all and end all, there is so much more to education and we cant just simply discount traditional methods due to this “amazing” new power. In order to really utilise computers we need to develop teaching styles to suit both the development of ICT ability and learning of important subject matter together. Programs to support our curriculums and teach our students fundamentals of histroy and society through a new world medium.

In conlusion… are we disallusioned? No, i dont think so… i think we are striving for something new… something better and God knows we need it! It may take a little time to tweek, but at least we are doing something… it may not be perfect… but we are on our way.