Customer Reviews

Computers in the Classroom: Mindtools for Critical Thinking

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David Jonassen's book served as the text for a course I took at Arizona State University West. I found the book outstanding. While it is common to find people advocating for the use of technology in education it is much less common that they understand the power and potential for technology to tranform the educational process at a very deep level. Jonassen "gets it" and perhaps you will too after reading this book.

I was so impressed with this book that for a class project I created a web site to support it. URLs aren't allowed in these reviews so do a search for "Mindtools Resource Page" on Altavista.

David Jonassen, in his book, Computers in the Classroom, explores the use of computers as a Mindtool in the classroom. Though his writing is somewhat verbose, the ideas Jonassen shares are interesting and informative. Jonassen focuses on working with computers to support critical thinking skills--that is, working with computers as cognitive tools.

I am a PhD student and my dissertation will be on computers and constructivism. I went thru so many books and articles for research and this book is one of the best I ever came across. You do not need to be a researcher to buy this book; teachers who are looking for creative and contemporary approaches in integrating computer technology into their classes, this book is a must read for you too.

This book by David H. Jonasses, "Computers in the Classroom Mindtools for Critical Thinking", Was very informatitive. First of all the book helped me understand the concept of mindtools. What they are, what they do, and why these mindtools should be used in the classroom. The author also covered in the book Learning with Computing: Developing critical Thinking with Mindtools and Promoting Thinking with Mindtools: Learning by Computing. Excellent reference for educators.

This book has really changed my perspective of computer use in the classroom. I got a lot of ideas to engage my students in higher order thinking and critical thinking skills. I would recommend this book for teachers who are interested in using the computer in the classroom for more than just drill and kill and games. It really gives clear ideas about how to engage kids in thinking activities. The only down side to this book is that Jonassen is somewhat wordy and redundant.

Bringing "Literacy through Technology" is our passion at Helpanswers.org where we use Dr. Jonassen's book as the foundation for our work in providing computers, Internet connectivity and over 70 online classes with person-to-person answering service to bring needy children marketable skills for economic freedom. Dr. Jonassen is truly brilliant! Thank you for the excellent insights in applying practical skills to deserving students!