Subject: Hi-tech classrooms not the answer (guru).
Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2000 034551 -0500
From: Roy Beavers
To: guru
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.......From EMF-L.........
Here is some good ammunition for those of you (like Dr. Gary Brown)
who have been fighting the "Blue World in the classroom" battle......
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2569680251-b3e
--
Roy Beavers (EMFguru)
roy@emfguru.com
It is better to light a single candle
than to curse the darkness.....
WEBSITE: http://emfguru.com
People are more important than profit$$
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Full Story
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09:31 AM ET 09/12/00
Group: Re-Evaluate School Computers
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Billions of dollars spent on school computers
and Internet connections deliver little long-term benefit and could
be better spent on more teachers and other improvements, a group
critical of technology in the classroom said Tuesday.
``We've gone down this highway of bringing computers into
elementary schools with so little debate, and spending such huge
sums,'' said Joan Almon, a former Baltimore kindergarten teacher
and head of the U.S. branch of Alliance for Childhood. ``If we were
spending so much money on other aspects of education with so little
evidence of gain, we'd be ashamed of ourselves.''
A major Clinton administration goal has been eliminating the
``digital divide'' by bringing computers and Internet access into
the nation's schools.
The alliance, an international partnership of educators, doctors
and psychologists based in College Park, Md., wants a ``time-out''
from policies that emphasize computers as an ideal educational tool
for toddlers, preschoolers and elementary school students.
Many experts say there is little direct evidence tying computer
use and higher school achievement. A study performed in 1998 by the
Educational Testing Service found that fourth- and eighth-graders
scored 15 percent higher on math tests after using computers to
play learning games, but derived no benefit using computers to
drill on basic skills.
The new report said that despite the limited research on the
impact of computers on education, U.S. public schools have spent
more than $27 billion on computers and related technology in the
past five years.
That money, the report concludes, could be better spent on other
educational priorities such as reducing class sizes, repairing
schools and eliminating lead poisoning.
The report warns that computers may account for a rise in health
problems among children, including repetitive stress injuries, eye
strain and obesity. Focusing too much on technology can also
distract children from the social interaction they need to develop
language skills and bonds with adults.
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On the Net: Alliance for Childhood:
http://www.allianceforchildhood.net/
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Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.emfguru.com