In 1913, just after he had invented the Kinetophone, a device
which synchronized sound and projected images, Thomas Edison
wrote, "Books will soon be obsolete in the schools. It is
possible to teach every branch of human knowledge through the
motion picture. Our school system will be completely changed
in the next ten years."
Nowadays, computer manufacturers and programmers are saying
the same thing. Of course, computers can be useful in
schools. They are now becoming essential for record keeping
and administration. The question is how useful they are as
educational tools, inside the classroom. Can they really
supplement or even replace the teacher and the blackboard?
Since 1990, school districts and states in the USA have spent
more than $40 billion on computers, software, and network
connectivity for schools. At least 50 cents of every dollar
spent on educational supplies goes to technology. The
education market is now worth $350 billion.
A West Virginia study found that fifth grade students who had
access to computers for six years gained an average of 14
points on an 800 point basic skills test. Researchers
concluded that about 11 percent of those 14 points, a mere
1.5 points, were attributable to technology tools, which cost
$7 million per year. Researchers also noted that the state
spent $430 million to renovate school buildings and increase
teacher salaries, which could have affected teacher and
student motivation and therefore could also have been
instrumental in the improvement.
In the last comprehensive study of its kind, a 1998 research
project by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), a private
testing organization that produces the Scholastic Aptitude
Test and others, found that school computer use was
associated with increasing math scores for eighth graders by
only one third of a grade level. Furthermore, researchers
commented that "the appearance of higher test scores in
students who use technology more frequently may be due to the
technology, or it may be due to the fact that such students
come from more affluent families, and so, are better
academically prepared in the first place." As the ETS study
points out, "Apparent higher achievement levels of students
with teachers who are computer proficient may be due to this
proficiency, or it may be due to these same teachers having
more teaching experience and knowledge of their subject
matter."
Some researchers argue that in some cases, introducing
technology into the classroom may actually have a detrimental
effect. In her controversial book, Failure to Connect: How
Computers Affect Our Children's Minds for Better and
Worse (Simon & Schuster, 1998), former principal Jane
Healy argues that computers should be used sparingly in
schools. She finds that heavy visual emphasis could be
harmful to early childhood development because pictures
require less effort to process than text. She also cites the
instant feedback of computer applications as a possible
factor in children's increasing inattentiveness. She warns,
"Some of the `habits of mind' fostered by this software are
dangerous... Attention is guided by noise, motion and color,
not by the child's brain."
Computers can keep students busy, but the students are not
necessarily learning to think. Often, the expectant look or
encouraging smile from a teacher motivates a student --
something they'll never get from a computer, no matter how
advanced. But even though it is more effective in the long
run to train and hire additional teachers, it is also more
expensive. The authors of the West Virginia study determined
that reducing average class size from 21 to 15 would cost
$636 per student -- $191 million in salaries alone for 5,739
additional teachers, while adding computers would cost only
about $86 per student.
At the moment, schools do not have substantial proof that
their investment in technology has made learning better --
not just cheaper or faster. The scholastic gains achieved by
high priced technology are only modest. Perhaps the money
could be used more effectively by helping teachers and
schools in other ways.
