Use Of Computers In Home Study

Impelled by a demand for increasing American strength in the new global economy, many educators, public officials, business leaders, and parents argue that school computers and Internet access will improve academic learning and prepare students for an information-based workplace. But just how valid is this argument? In Oversold and Underused, one of the most respected voices in American education argues that when teachers are not given a say in how the technology might reshape schools, computers are merely souped-up typewriters and classrooms continue to run much as they did a generation ago. In his studies of early childhood, high school, and university classrooms in Silicon Valley, Larry Cuban found that students and teachers use the new technologies far less in the classroom than they do at home, and that teachers who use computers for instruction do so infrequently and unimaginatively. Cuban points out that historical and organizational economic contexts influence how teachers use technical innovations. Computers can be useful when teachers sufficiently understand the technology themselves, believe it will enhance learning, and have the power to shape their own curricula. But these conditions can't be met without a broader and deeper commitment to public education beyond preparing workers. More attention, Cuban says, needs to be paid to the civic and social goals of schooling, goals that make the question of how many computers are in classrooms trivial.

This study examined the creative uses of computers in elementary schools and their impact on student's confidence and self-esteem, student-student interaction, student-teacher interaction, male and female students, classroom management, the role of the teacher, special education, teacher training, teachers not involved in the study, and curricular areas such as computer literacy, learning Logo as a programming language, problem-solving and problem-creation, mathematics, oral communication, reading and writing, the arts, and values and the individual and society. Findings are based on intensive examinations of real classrooms over a 2-year period. A total of 433 students in 18 classrooms that involved 13 different teachers were studied; of these, 5 teachers and 40 students were involved in the study for 2 years. Classrooms had 1 to 5 computers over the entire school year, or students had access to a computer laboratory. Logo and word processing were studied extensively; the use of a graphics tablet and Musicland were explored for short periods. Findings indicate that the creative use of computers fosters the development of independent and original thinking and that an environment that encourages exploration leads to extensive social interaction among students; in addition, students become more willing to express, refine, or revise their ideas. A significantly greater proportion of students experienced an increase in their confidence and self-esteem if their teacher was able to give them autonomy over their learning. The impact on students' attention span and cognitive development in the special education classes was also significant. Appendices and selected references are provided. (Author/JB)