Since people have been mentioning credentials... I have been in the computer field since 1982, have a MS in computer science, and have taught computer literacy for ten years. My current field is educational psychology at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and I've done a fair amount of reading in the aera of instructional technology while here in Minneapolis, although I am not an expert.
Heather Martens wrote: > While I’ve got to hand it to the marketers, I worry about the effect of computers on elementary schools’ finite resources. My > understanding is that there is a vast body of research that says art and music >improve young children’s achievement overall. > There are a FEW studies that show art and music improve achievement, but the evidence is not reliable or strong. Does anyone know of any of this type of study that has been done in Minneapolis? > At the same time, there seems to > be no research that shows computers improve young children’s achievement. > The link between computers and achievement is also tenuous. There are many studies that show that computers are not used, or not used appropriately, and that teachers are often not trained how to teach with them. I am sure that this is also true in the MPS. Of course this does not imply that even if they were used and teachers trained, that they would have any greater impact. I posted some time ago that I thought that computers contribute little to primary education, but that secondary students should know how to use them before graduating. However, when you look at the overall costs, computers pale in comparison to the money squandered on reducing class sizes. This is a great discussion on how the Minneapolis Public Schools emphasize "solutions" designed to raise achievement which are generally ineffective. An even more productive discussion might be to talk about solutions which are effective. Michael Atherton Prospect Park _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
