The Flickering Mind
Todd Oppenheimer, The Flickering Mind
No doubt the computer is the cureall for our time. I can't imagine a malady, complaint, or problem that can't be solved by a quick trip to the internet. Need a product review by a corporate shill? Epinions.com. Attacked by water-borne parasitic bacterioids? Should have read up on giardia. Suspect your wife of terrorist leanings? tips.fbi.gov, my friend.
Sadly, educationists--teachers, administrators, bureaucrats, parents, even students--have been suckered by the lure of the flickering CRT. Todd Oppenheimer dissects the history of technology in education, and his findings: it's overrated. No matter what the new gizmo or gadget, it can't supplant (and often gets in the way of) good teaching. Study after study shows that human interaction outweighs and outlasts the effects of technology on learning.
This is the must-read book for those concerned with the state of American education.
posted by Jim Anderson @ 8:57 AM
2 Comments:
Sounds really interesting. I'll try to get to it soon (as I am teaching now). Thanks for the strong recommendation.
It has that rare combination of sharp polemic and extensive research. Oppenheimer is no Luddite, but he knows that a gee-whiz approach to new technology has harmed American education. (I'm the teacher who has his students post regularly on a blog, after all, and I have discovered--rather quickly--that it's a great complement to class discussions, but no substitute for real conversation.)
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