Interesting People mailing list archives
PCs and education
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 06:02:35 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: "Gordon C. Thomasson, Ph.D." <gthomas1 () stny rr com> Date: May 6, 2007 6:54:32 PM EDT To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net> Subject: PCs and education Dave,I know it is heresy for (most?) IP-people, but this should be confronted honestly. With ever-shrinking education budgets (in terms of $-buying power, energy costs, etc.), honest cost-benefit analysis must be done and faced-up to. Even with the fabled $100 (now the even more fabled $10) PC, the question is not just can computers be afforded financially, but educationally. I'm sure a hidden camera in the back of my college classroom (I'm NOT suggesting one) would show some of those apparently studious laptops have something other than course notes on the screen. And as for IM-ing ...
Gordon C. Thomasson, Ph.D.Are PCs, especially laptops, good for schools? The general issue is EFFECTIVENESS -- both program and cost. In short, what is the NET effect on schooling (not just learning) and on taxes (do we get good value?). More and more the answer seems to be "no". The /NY Times/ story (excerpts below) reports another challenge, pointing to a wide range of problems, including instructional, curricular, disciplinary, and fiscal.
tal-http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/education/04laptop.html?ei=5087% 0A&em=&en=e81b274bb8b5effb&ex=1178424000 <http://www.nytimes.com/ 2007/05/04/education/04laptop.html?ei=5087% 0A&em=&en=e81b274bb8b5effb&ex=1178424000>
/NY Times/ May 4, 2007 *Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops *By WINNIE HU .....So the Liverpool Central School District, just outside Syracuse, has decided to phase out laptops starting this fall, joining a handful of other schools around the country that adopted one-to-one computing programs and are now *abandoning them as educationally empty ? and worse*.
...."After seven years, there was *literally no evidence it had any impact on student achievement ? none*," said Mark Lawson, the school board president here in Liverpool, one of the first districts in New York State to experiment with putting technology directly into students' hands. "The teachers were telling us when there's a one-to- one relationship between the student and the laptop, the box gets in the way. It's a *distraction to the educational process*."
.....Yet school officials here and in several other places said laptops had been abused by students, did not fit into lesson plans, and showed little, if any, measurable effect on grades and test scores at a time of increased pressure to meet state standards. Districts have dropped laptop programs after resistance from teachers, logistical and technical problems, and escalating maintenance costs. Such disappointments are the latest example of how technology is often embraced by philanthropists and political leaders as a quick fix ....
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Current thread:
- PCs and education David Farber (May 07)
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- Re: PCs and education David Farber (May 08)
- Re: PCs and education David Farber (May 12)