Computers Arrive in Schools In the 1970’s computers entered the consumer market, and hobbyists began purchasing computers. By 1981, personal computers could be purchased for less than $1000, and amateur enthusiasts (including children) were writing their own programs to satisfy their own interests and curiosities, but consumer computers were still marginalized and largely a hobby. Read More
119: On Computer Mediated Communication in Schools The events I recorded in the papers I wrote as an undergraduate student and in my journal kept during my first few years working as a teacher and the few surviving lesson plans and resource folders from my pre-Internet years (recall that I entered the teaching profession using Read More
In schools today, most professionals who work with technology typically fall into one of six groups. The descriptions of the duties assigned to these individuals illustrate the range of tasks necessary to manage and use the very complex information technology infrastructure encountered in a typical school and the scale of the system that requires support: Read More
Cognitive load theorists recognize three types of cognitive load: Intrinsic cognitive load is associated with the learner thinking about the information and the task. Intrinsic load does increase as the task becomes more complex, but steps to break the task down into parts and the use graphic organizers (for example) to help store and organize Read More
In general, one can surmise there is consensus regarding the role of formal educational systems: the public supports and maintains the system to prepare youngsters to participate in the economic, political, and cultural life of society. The nature of the experiences designed to meet this purpose changes over time. Traditionally, the domain of education includes Read More
“Those who can do. Those who can’t teach.” We have all seen this quote and observed (accurately) that it doesn’t show the great wit that many who toss it around think. Poems have been written about it; keynote speeches have been given about it. Books and articles have been written about it. We all despise Read More
Early in the history of computers in schools, they typically purchased and supported only one operating system. Schools were “Apple” schools or “IBM” schools; later they were Macintosh or Windows schools. Ostensibly, decisions were made for financial reasons (PC’s were generally assumed to be less expensive than Macintoshes) or for educational reasons (“PC’s are what Read More
Because education and schools are technologies, they are not neutral. What happens in school is politically relevant, it matters to humans. This may seem a silly statement, but frequently, adults in schools proceed with their work and appear to be ignorant of this. The effect is especially observed in those classrooms in which the goal Read More
… allow us to conclude:
Educational reform tends to follow a cycle that is familiar to many: First, an initiative (supported with little or dubious evidence from the learning sciences) is introduced and implemented (with little or dubious support and rationale). Second, problems with the initiative appear. These can originate from poor or incomplete implementation or support, discrepancies between the Read More