Are Computers Bad for Students?

According to this Orion Online article, computers may be bad for students. This would be in contrast to the conventional wisdom that says that the introduction and implementation of new technology in the classroom is what is needed to give children the best education possible.

The article quotes Stanford professor Larry Cuban who, citing recent research, says that, “there have been no advances over the past decade that can be confidently attributed to broader access to computers…the link between test-score improvements and computer availability and use is even more contested." Even more surprising is the indication that “students who frequently use computers perform worse academically than those who use them rarely or not at all.”

The writer of the article goes on to say:
“I think we will see that educational computing is neither a revolution nor a passing fad, but a Faustian bargain. Children gain unprecedented power to control their external world, but at the cost of internal growth. During the two decades that I taught young people with and about digital technology, I came to realize that the power of computers can lead children into deadened, alienated, and manipulative relationships with the world, that children's increasingly pervasive use of computers jeopardizes their ability to belong fully to human and biological communities—ultimately jeopardizing the communities themselves.”

and

“unlike reading, virtual adventures leave almost nothing to, and therefore require almost nothing of, the imagination. In experiencing the virtual world, the student cannot, as philosopher Steve Talbott has put it, "connect to [her] inner essence…On the contrary, she is exposed to a simulated world that tends to deaden her encounters with the real one.”

“I repeatedly found that after engaging in Internet projects, students came back down to the Earth of their immediate surroundings with boredom and disinterest—and a desire to get back online. This phenomenon was so pronounced that I started kidding my students about being BEJs: Big Event Junkies. Sadly, many readily admitted that, in general, their classes had to be conducted with the multimedia sensationalism of MTV just to keep them engaged. Having watched Discovery Channel and worked with computer simulations that severely compress both time and space, children are typically disappointed when they first approach a pond or stream: the fish aren't jumping, the frogs aren't croaking, the deer aren't drinking, the otters aren't playing, and the raccoons (not to mention bears) aren't fishing. Their electronic experiences have led them to expect to see these things happening—all at once and with no effort on their part. This distortion can also result from a diet of television and movies, but the computer's powerful interactive capabilities greatly accelerate it. And the phenomenon affects more than just experiences with the natural world. It leaves students apathetic and impatient in any number of settings—from class discussions to science experiments. The result is that the child becomes less animated and less capable of appreciating what it means to be alive, what it means to belong in the world as a biological, social being.”

And this telling statement:

“As the computer has amplified our youths' ability to virtually 'go anywhere, at any time,' it has eroded their sense of belonging anywhere, at any time, to anybody, or for any reason. How does a child growing up in Kansas gain a sense of belonging when her school encourages virtual learning about Afghanistan more than firsthand learning about her hometown? How does she relate to the world while spending most of her time engaging with computer-mediated text, images, and sounds that are oddly devoid of place, texture, depth, weight, odor, or taste—empty of life? Can she still cultivate the qualities of responsibility and reverence that are the foundation of belonging to real human or biological communities?”

Perhaps the crucial thing for school aged students is learning how to learn. Once they acquire this ability the use of technology acts simply as an accelerator to the attainment of specific information useful for the student’s current needs. Apparently, computers impede this ability to learn by making it seem that they’ve learned something when they really haven’t. The usefulness of knowing how to learn can be seen in career moves. I’ve heard it said that most people will change careers six or seven times during their working lives (this seems a rather high figure, but I’ll assume it’s true). If a pastry chef wanted to become a computer programmer, he would have to learn a whole new set of technical knowledge; but if he is accustomed to good methods of learning, the technical stuff will fall into place. The same goes for people advancing up through a company. I think I read that promotions are based as much on one’s emotional quotient as one’s technical knowledge. A good learner will pick up on the technical knowledge quickly enough.

Of course, there are those who probably would disagree with this bleak assessment of computer use in the classroom. In any case, the article brings up some good points for educators to ponder.