Computers in schools

The purpose of having computers in schools is not to teach students how to use them; the value of having and effectively using computers in our classrooms is that they can en­hance academic results. It is wrong to assume that, if computers are not in the schools, then kids won't be able to get jobs in an increasingly computerized world. Learning to use a computer takes no more than a month or so....not 12 years. If our schools are graduat­ing students that are incapable of quickly learning to operate a computer on their own. then they have truly failed. The true benefit of computers is that they can enable our stu­dents to realize the same increase in productivity that has been experienced by the work­ing world as a whole. They can reduce the grunt work from the tasks of learning, which – like the outside world – are researching, writing, organization, analysis and presenta­tion of ideas. By enabling these tasks to be done easily and in more depth, computers can enhance learning.

Although we are beginning to see a few studies of large scale implementations which are successful, the capacity of classroom computing to improve academic results depends on how effectively they are used. The fact that effectiveness studies show somewhat mixed results is a clear warning that we must plan carefully, implement slowly, assess and evaluate thoroughly, clarify the best models, and support our staff. The crux of success lies in the ability of teachers to capitalize on the educational opportunities offered by this new tool. It will take teachers a number of years to move sufficiently up the learning curve to be able to effectively utilize computers in their classes; therefore the public should not expect measurable results to appear rapidly. It will take five to ten years to see material impact. The government must, however, be able at some point to demonstrate to the public that there are clear and measurable results over time, or support will evaporate.

School technology is a "work in process" across the nation. There are not many examples of exemplary classroom computing implementations, which suggest that the task of so doing is significant. Plans tend to do a poor job of goal setting, providing for adequate support, explaining how computers will actually be used, and key frameworks and lesson planning guidance remain undone.

School computers should be used to build and reinforce basic skills, facilitating analysis and presentation of work, providing simulated hands-on experience and enhancing teacher productivity.

The educational community seems to be conflicted over whether drill and practice or project-based ("constructivist") teaching techniques should be the focus of computer as­sisted teaching. There is support in the literature and in at least one large scale imple­mentation for the assertion that drill and practice can improve basic skills. Research on project based or constructivist techniques is less conclusive. It is my opinion that these two approaches are not mutually exclusive and both should be used where appropriate.

Other than spreadsheet, word processing and similar software, there is a general lack of quality software to support educational needs, particularly that suitable for project-based or "constructivist" techniques.

Terms such as global village", "information explosion", "information highway", "vast storehouse of information" and suggestions of access to the collections of the world's maior libraries and museums have combined in the oublic discussion to create unrealistic expectations and make the pressure to hurry the implementation. School computing plans often repeat and attempt to build on these mvths. But educators had best be careful with these mvths.

Intensive staff support and development is critical if classroom computing is to be util­ized and successful. We need training technical and pedagogical support both prior to startup and on a continuous basis thereafter. Most support must be available full time at each school site. This report estimates that there needs to be one full time support person at school sites for every 50 computers; if a high level of dedicated support is not pro­vided, the requisite help will either come from the time of other teachers (often called peer or "underground" support) or computers will simply not be used. To the extent that peer support replaces dedicated staffing, it could have the effect of removing one or two teachers from every elementary school as peers omit their regular duties to help others.

Teacher training should begin one year before they set computers in the classroom. At that time each should receive a laptop with spreadsheet, word processing and other basic software so that they have an opportunity to begin learning on their own. During that year they should prepare a classroom computing plan composed of representative lesson plans showing where computer power will be used. At the end of that year they should be ex­pected to demonstrate basic skills at using computers and justify their plan in order to re­ceive a basic level certification. Teachers should not receive classroom computers until basic certification is earned.

Characteristics of the computer industry itself compound teaching challenges and in­crease the cost of classroom computing and support. These challenges include the pace of technological change, ubiquitous software bugs and hardware instability, and emphasis on marketing of upgrades that compound the learning curve but bring little compensating value added. The cost of installing upgrades over the life of a given hardware setup have been estimated to exceed the cost of the hardware itself. Systems that are unstable and crash frequently are a disincentive for teacher use.

Most plans speak of computer literacy and seem to emphasize teaching students how to use technology rather than using computers to teach while at the same time denying this intent. Basic computer skills can be learned quickly, and furthermore, the pace of tech­nological change assures that skills learned today will be obsolete tomorrow. The purpose of having computers in our schools is to improve academic results.