Putting computers in schools hasn't been about improving education since the late 1980's or very early 1990's. It's about the image of improving education. Computers became the trend and every school had to have them or appear to be behind. If they were really interested in improving the quality of education, they would ask the teachers to evaluate the educational software and recommend the ones that would be beneficial in their classrooms. The most recommended programs would then be listed and they would request bids for systems that run that software. Hardware is essentially a commodity, it's mostly interchangeable. Software is NOT a commomodity, it's the single most valuable part of any computer system. Unfortunately, people have difficulty seeing that because it's a 'virtual' rather than a physical product. That applies to the school boards, consumers, and businesses. Apple is (or has been) operating under the idea that it's a hardware company, but they never really have been about hardware.
To paraphrase a famous saying: It's the software, stupid. I've been a proponent of using computers in the classroom for years and I still am, but I'm also jaded by the realities of how they've been (mis-)used. I've recently experienced what I believe is the next great step in education. SuperTeaching (http://www.superteaching.org). It's a multi-media classroom that brings together a lot of different elements that have been individually shown to improve attention span, retention, learning speed, etc. You can read about it and the theories behind it, but it's something you have to experience to really comprehend. The weakness right now is that there is no curriculum available, the teachers must develop the multi-media curriculum themselves. While the system assists with that process, most teachers are not familiar with or adept at creating multi-media material, so the efficacy is limited. It's still the software that is the key. Geoff ----- Original Message ----- From: "Byron Q. Desnoyers Winmill" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Apple2list" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2004 01:58 PM Subject: Re: Computers in school (was: Apple IIc +(color monitor?)) > On Thu, Oct 21, 2004 at 01:57:24PM +0800, Dale Hill wrote: > > Our school has gone totally to the dark side, other than the two > > or three Apple IIes with color monitors working in the 1st grade > > school and kindergarten. > > I became disenchanted with computers in schools around my last year > of high school, and it had nothing to do with their choice of > platform (they simply moved from old PCs to new PCs). Around that > point it became clear that computers were becoming status symbols, > rather than tools to teach new skills. > > While I agree with another poster about schools dumping their > investment in old software is stupid, particularly because it is > the software that matters, you have to look at it from the perspective > of the school board. If parents get wind that their kids are > learning on twenty year old Apple IIe's when the equipment becomes > obsolete in three to four years, they are going to be upset. > > There are a couple of reasons for that. One is the ease with which > an application like AppleWorks can be thought of as obsolete in a > world which uses the GUIified Word and Excel and (god forbid) > PowerPoint. It doesn't matter whether classes which teach with > AppleWorks focus on general skills, whereas the more modern labs > would be used to teach Word (in particular), because that isn't > what industry uses. > > Even in the more general case of educational software (ie. stuff > designed to teach), you would be hard pressed to fight this notion > that progress flows in one direction. For example, Raskin argued > in a recent interview: > > The quest for CPU power has been largely defeated by bloated > software in applications and operating systems. Some programs > I wrote in Basic on an Apple II ran faster than when written > in a modern language on a G4 Dual-processor Mac with hardware > 1,000 times faster. > > (see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0%2C3605%2C1331536%2C00.html) > > In other words, modern technology doesn't necessarily offer better > software. I would imagine that this is particularly true in > education, seeming as advances depend upon a better understanding > of human psychology than pushing bits around a machine. Unless, > of course, you're one of those people who believe that educators > must entertain students. IMHO, they are confusing entertain with > maintaining the interest of. > > Of course, if the objective is to entertain, you are stuck with > following each fad. This is because something which was effective > at one point of time, because of its novelty, isn't necessarily > going to be effective to the next batch of students, because it > lost its novelty. > > Byron. > -- Apple2list is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... / Buy books, CDs, videos, and more from Amazon.com \ / <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/lowendmac> \ Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Apple2list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/apple2.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/apple2list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
