<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: OR WHY COMPUTERS MAKE OLD-STYLE EDUCATORS FEEL INADEQUATE
Review: .We can presume this book's intended audience is the legion of teachers and education bureaucrats who cringe every time they hear the phrase "computers in the classroom". Their biggest dilemma and their most justifiable concern are the expense of the hardware and the short-life of your typical PC. Educational dollars are finite and mistakes can be expensive. The big bonus though, is that as computers have become more powerful, they are at the same rate becoming cheaper. Alison Armstrong and Charles Casement in their book make a fundamental mistake in their approach to the impact of computers on children's education. They focus predominantly on the hardware and human interface issue. Surely the power and impact of IT is not all about the box that sit on our desks but instead it is the world of knowledge and the creative tools that brings value, pleasure and rewards to all of us. Since this book must have been written for an audience of educators, academics and "concerned parents", it sensibly provides us with a comprehensive set of footnotes and bibliography. Unfortunately, the index is useless. I thought I'd check out references to Yahoo! There are two, the second being on page 200. Nowhere is Yahoo mentioned on that page. Similarly references to Nicholas Negroponte. We found a couple of references to his "Being Digital" when reading the book, but the writers casually dismiss his ideas in a few lines . Whoever indexed their book should polish up their search tools since the index often leads us nowhere. When you consider Yahoo searches are damned by the authors, and considered to be such a difficult and confusing task for a child, imagine how a serious reader of their book feels when references to Yahoo in their own index lead you astray. [The writers] still see knowledge as a Cartesian world of library shelves and card index files. The new technology and its impact on education are not simple computer aided instruction tools or smartish auxiliary teachers. Instead, they offer a gateway into a whole new world. Cyberspace is all about a network of relationships; not a series of neatly catalogued and cross-referenced facts and figures. The authors remind me of the guys who walked in front of the first steam locos waving a red flag. This time round its the youngsters who are driving the trains ( and designing and building them) , and its the parents and teachers who are cowering in fear of the new technology. This book relies mainly on anecdotal accounts when developing their arguments about the dangers of computers in the classroom. There is very little objective statistics or fact-based research in this book. All this book succeeds in doing is reinforcing the prejudices of the anti-computer lobby. Its Canadian origins shine through with its none too subtle references to the tainted world of American commercialism. To be more credible the writers could have broadened their field of research to the Scandinavians (particularly the Finnish) who are leaders in the application of IT in education. Since the topic of this book deals with such an important area for all of us it is disappointing to see it treated in such a shallow and one-dimensional manner.
Rating: 
Summary: A must-read for anyone who cares about kids
Review: It is all too easy for those of us with serious concerns about the every-growing power of computers in our children's lives to be shouted down with unreasining cries of 'Luddite!'. Fortunately this book has now come along to strike back on our behalf. It is well-researched, well-argued, and written in simple, clear English, and the concerns raised by the authors about computer overuse mirror what I have witnessed happening in the classroom over the last decade. It's comforting to know that I'm not just imagining it. I use and enjoy computers, both at home and in my work as a teacher, but they are only one tool among many. For me, perhaps the most interesting and important chapter was that on the role of the arts in education, and how this vital component was being squeezed of funding in order to provide more (in my view and the view of the authors, unnecessary) technology. Occasionally the authors go overboard in their criticisms of computer use, particularly in the chapter on knowledge, but they're definitely going in the right direction and should be congratulated for opening up a reasoned dialogue on this question, which is surely one of the seminal issues of our times. Please read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Computers are Everywhere! And so are our kids...
Review: Solid information backed by fact and thoughtful experience on what we should consider when our kids plunk themselves in front of a computer for hours on end. Doesn't anyone play outside anymore without a coach or some adult in charge? I like that this book inspries parents to let kids be kids, to grow up healthy and intelligent from a multitude of experiences, including some with the computer.
Rating:
Summary: Computers harm kids
Review: This is a timely appraisal of the role of computers in childhood education.The authors question the hype surrounding the use of computers by young children.Parents are pressured to put their children on the computer bandwagon with fears that they will be "left behind".(It's perfectly sane to be left behind collective delusion.)The authors are not anti-computer, but they put forward cogent reasons why young children are harmed by computers.A central point is that computers offer very limited experiences.They offer little more than rote learning and visual stimulation of dubious value.The young child needs a variety of experiences that the computer just cannot give, such as interaction with other people and with living, stimulating environments.Computers deny the development of the imagination, language skills, and experiences of relating.Child development is thus diminished by the computer.The authors also mention physical harm caused by computers, such as RSI, poor posture, back strain, "Sega thumb," eye fatigue and headaches.Young children are more prone to these problems.This is a carefully researched book which wants to see the real needs of children met.It is a much needed antidote to current computer hype.
Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful Critique of Computers in Education
Review: This is not another Luddite style, hysterically pitched, attack on computers. Armstrong and Casement present a well-reasoned and well-researched assessment of the shortcomings of computer eduction for children. They point out many attributes of software design and computer network systems that work to the disadvantage of some children in certain cases, most children in others. For instance, the very nature of the Internet, with all of its built-in "hyerlink" capability, will give only the most intensely focused pupils a fair shot at genuine learning. The rest? Prone to the distraction and ease of "point and click" motions, they are likely to follow tangential digressions and drift more and more away from the topic at hand. They wil also encounter a high number of non-educational messages, intending to sell and promote consumption of products. The majority of "educational" software is described as heavily influenced by the video and computer game design mentality. Pupils quickly learn how to master the "object" of the "game" and score points, but often with only superficial understanding of concepts. Most persuasive, however, may be the authors' argument that learning about the world must involve going out and experiencing it in numerous ways. Sitting in front of a monitor is a very narrowly defined kind of "experience." All elementary teachers, and indeed all parents of young children, should give this book a very open-minded examination. Those whose kids read books, attend concerts, ask questions of other people, and get involved in conversations, will feel they are on the right track after following the authors' arguments.
Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful Critique of Computers in Education
Review: This is not another Luddite style, hysterically pitched, attack on computers. Armstrong and Casement present a well-reasoned and well-researched assessment of the shortcomings of computer eduction for children. They point out many attributes of software design and computer network systems that work to the disadvantage of some children in certain cases, most children in others. For instance, the very nature of the Internet, with all of its built-in "hyerlink" capability, will give only the most intensely focused pupils a fair shot at genuine learning. The rest? Prone to the distraction and ease of "point and click" motions, they are likely to follow tangential digressions and drift more and more away from the topic at hand. They wil also encounter a high number of non-educational messages, intending to sell and promote consumption of products. The majority of "educational" software is described as heavily influenced by the video and computer game design mentality. Pupils quickly learn how to master the "object" of the "game" and score points, but often with only superficial understanding of concepts. Most persuasive, however, may be the authors' argument that learning about the world must involve going out and experiencing it in numerous ways. Sitting in front of a monitor is a very narrowly defined kind of "experience." All elementary teachers, and indeed all parents of young children, should give this book a very open-minded examination. Those whose kids read books, attend concerts, ask questions of other people, and get involved in conversations, will feel they are on the right track after following the authors' arguments.
<< 1 >>
| 
