Computers in schools

NATE SCHMOLZE (schmolze who-is-at students.wisc.edu)
Mon, 25 Aug 1997 18:51:34 -0500

I remember quite awhile ago there was a joke in which the VCR was =
referred to as the most expensive clock one could own. I think the =
computer can easily fit into this also. Throughout my practice and =
student teaching experiences I have found the computer to be a =
terrifying piece of furniture for many teachers. I have wanted to =
incorporate technology into my teaching, but was held back by old =
technology.

I have also found that even though teachers fear the new technology, =
they express an enormous level of excitement in bringing it into the =
curriculum. Teachers express concerns of having it function as tool for =
learning not merely for playing video games. I have also seen computers =
used as a free choice tool which can feed into gender, class, and racial =
inequalities on computer use and knowledge. How I've seen this most =
often used is a child can use the computer when they finish their other =
work. In many classrooms this is as far as computer use goes - a toy or =
reward for finishing other more important educational tasks. The =
children who could receive the most benefit from computer use seldom get =
the chance. Computer use often hasn't moved to being seen as an equal =
tool as say a dictionary.

When I think of computer integration its similar to the example Goodman =
used in an earlier post. My experience is that this is not the norm. I =
am doing my final student teaching this semester and was glad to find =
out they had an up to date computer and Internet access. I jokingly =
told my fellow students that I chose my student teaching placement =
because they had the best computer. Although this was not entirely true =
it did play a part in my decision. My cooperating teacher has expressed =
excitement at the thought of moving the computer from an expensive piece =
of furniture to an integrated educational tool.=20

Nate Schmolze
<http://www.geocities.com/~nschmolze>
<schmolze who-is-at students.wisc.edu>