Customer Reviews

High Tech Heretic: Why Computers Don't Belong in the Classroom and Other Reflections by a Computer Contrarian

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Clifford Stoll's worries about the (mis)use of computers in education ring true. Like him I am no computer Luddite and, as a university teacher, make extensive use of computers. However, he is right, there is no substitute for a certain amount of hard slog when it comes to learning. A lot of multimedia software attempts to make learning fun and there is nothing wrong with that as long as it doesn't trivialise the learning process.

There is much of value in this book but for me the most important part was Stoll's thoughts on the differences between hypertext and "real" text and just how detrimental an effect those differences can have on the reading habits and abilities of young people. I also enjoyed Stoll's exposé of the eagerness, at many levels of government throughout the United States, to install technology at any cost. This demonstrates a lack of understanding among officials who should know better. Often, it seems, the funding of technology in schools becomes a political gambit.

Stoll points out that there is little need to emphasise the learning of technology within the curriculum, especially at the expense of other subjects, because young people pick it up so easily anyway. I think it wouldn't be too strong to say that he views a large part of the US policy on computers in schools as crazy. He puts a lot of strong arguments to support this view.

This book is easy to read and it will certainly give you a lot to think about. It is worth reading (if you aren't too busy surfing the web).

Stoll shares his skeptical and sometimes cynical view on the use of computer technology in education and society in general.

I found the part on education a bit repetitous and thought that Stoll could have shortened it after the first couple of chapters he tried to make his point (or condense into less chapters). The part on computer technology and society is more general and covers several loose topics (PowerPoint and the grey mass of presentations with non-essential gadgetery!)

His insight is refreshing and somewhat daring in a time you seemingly should not speak 'against' computer technology: It sometimes feels you are either on or off in the current trends regarding the Web and computers in general. Stoll simply asks questions on the blind use of computer technology and makes us think about it (I happen to agree with him a lot), but he isn't against it: he also thinks there are a lot of good uses but computer technology should not become the goal, only a means to get where we want to go.

Unfortunately, I found commentaries like "Uh, right." below the level of competence of Stoll as a writer. He explains and tells other stuff so well, so he should not have to fall back on short (cheap) comments like that.

I give 3 points for the book (it is not great nor badly written; well above average) and 1 point for the refreshing and daring view on computer technology.

Non-conformist Cliff Stoll, previously having taken on computer hackers and silicon valley, points his street-wise chatter sites on the educational use of computers. Stoll is concerned that the computer has drained resources instead of providing quality education. While admittedly a big user of computers (even to the point of keeping his old Mac for a fishtank, which is admittedly also being a recycler instead of a waste generator) Stoll finds numerous examples of the use of computers which does not enhance the learning environment. He intersperses his own anecdotes with quotes from seasoned educators. In the end, you have a humorous rendition of a serious matter, namely, how much better learning by our youth is being accomplished by the reliance on the computer and its web-based technologies, as opposed to instilling in our youth an earnest desire to comprehend the world within which they live. Not to mention the ability to think for one's self.

Maybe this is not the right forum to discuss a book that debunks the internet, but I presume that you have enough sense to read between the lines here as with Stoll's book.

More than his writing style, I enjoyed his perspicacious understanding of how computers and everything related to high tech has radically changed our society and individual lives. For some odd reason, we never challenge new gadgetry, we just assimilate it. But for everything we gain, we lose something.

I particularly enjoyed the first half of his book, in which he challenges using computers in our public schools. It is a high cost, low benefit formula. (Read Jane Healy's books, Failure To Connect and Endangered Minds, if you want to follow-up on this topic.)

In the second half of his book, he rattles technology in general, and although his tone sounds at times like the whiny Andy Rooney, his message needs to be heard, particularly his chapter on Library management.

If the title appeals to you, you will like the book; he's a radical from the inside. This book should be a companion to Bill McKibbon's The Age of Misinformation and Jerry Mander's In The Absence Of The Sacred.

This is a quick, scatalogical read, friends, and worth it.

As a high school counselor, I talk to kids every day who are obsessed with computers yet are unable to relate to their peers in normal conversation. Dr. Stoll has hit the nail on the head with his ideas. This book is a godsend! I hope it comes out in paperback soon so I can afford to give copies of it to my colleagues who seem to think computers are the "end-all and be-all." The book is easy to read yet has very profound points to make by someone who is on the inside of the computer world. An important book that should be read by anyone involved in education, including and especially parents!

As a public school teacher I can attest to the fact that Cliff really knows what he is talking about. I think that he'd make a fantastic High School teacher and he knows more about education than half of the ED school professors that I had in college.

Cliff's basic thesis in this book is that we are spending way too much money on computers in schools in an effort to appear up to date. He brilliantly argues that learning is a difficult process requiring hard work from both the students and the teacher. Too often, he argues, we are seduced by the idea that computers will somehow make this process simple and painless.

He presents his material with humor and persuasive arguements. I find that his points were well thought out and argued well.

For example, he rails against the idea of teaching kids how to make multi-media presentations. He points out that these exercises take a tremendous amount of time to create, and the amount of material learned is neglible.

I once sat through a workshop where a student produced power point presentation was displayed. This was supposed to be a stellar example integrating technology to history. What the kid did was make a power point movie to the tune of Billy Joel's "We didn't start the fire." It had all the images that Joel mentions in his song, but I thought. Did the kid really know who Chairman Mao was, who Ho Chi Mihn was, and all the other people and places mentioned? Or did he just go out to the web, download the images, and paste them into the song? Stoll's book argues against just this sort of junk, and is should be required reading for all school superintendents

Sadly, this book will probobly go unnoticed in the educational policy marketplace. Peopl who will wonder why more and more of are children's test scores are declining and why kids are having to take remedial courses in college should buy Stoll's book. The answer is staring at them in the face.

I've never been a big fan of installing technology in schools for the sake of installing them, but I couldn't articulate my argument against the kind of wholesale "spend money on computers and the Internet" campaigns now going on. My thought was that unless you provide training, resources, and real software, computers are no better than word processors or video games. There's no learning involved except if you're learning to do tech support.

Stoll's anecdotes and statistics lend credence to the notion that a lot of good education (and teachers and programs) are cut to support an idea that's a sop to the real ideas of education. He carefully explores and refutes most of the claims of the pro-technology crowd, while giving good voice to the reasonable and correct uses of computers in the classroom.

The point is not that kids shouldn't use computers, but that computers should always be tools to assist in learning. That learning can be hard, challenging and rewarding - and that most computer software is sold as simply "a fun way to learn," as if other ways are somehow bad.

No matter what your take on the issue, read this book. It should form the authoritative basis for the ongoing discussion.

After thoroughly combing over this book, I was disappointed by the lack of facts and figures to back up the 90% of his rantings and ravings with sentences like: "So... yeah!"

I am a computer technician in two low-income elementary schools, so I am on the front lines of what he was attempting to explain. I am not here to "defend my job" because if I really felt this was a waste of taxpayer's dollars, I would leave and work elsewhere, which was the reason I picked the book up in the first place.

But because we are in a low-income area, the teaching staff that we hire is sub-par to the 4-star "upper class" schools that may be wasting resources. Because of this, we have found that many of the websites and programs we approve are able to "fill in the cracks" of the shortcomings we face. And because of the budget situation, 100% of my school's computers are donations from companies that have generously given their "old junk" to be used by us. We are eternally grateful for all of the companies that saw our immediate need for projectors and PCs.

While I DO agree that there is a fine line between TRUE learning and "doing it because it is cool", the fact of the matter is that 90% of the children of tomorrow will need computer experience, whether it is writing a resume, or a doctorate paper in college. Or, it could be the necessity of staying in touch via email with family on the other side of the globe because they can't afford talking on the phone.

But the point that he has missed was that we do not force the teachers to use the technology. They come to us with their own vision and ideas to allow the children to learn in THEIR language. Think about it - when a child goes home after school, what will they most likely be doing? They play video games, facebook, myspace, and youtube. The common trait in all of these activities is that the child interacts with the media. When a child learns from their textbook (as sad as it may be) they aren't listening. I do not wish this was they way it is, but this is a sad fact of the matter.

Currently, we have interactive Smartboards (a projector projecting on a touch screen) in the classrooms, where students can view and manipulate objects in a 3-D environment. My schools simply do not have the resources to purchase "oscilloscopes" to show sound waves, but we can afford to go to a free website and interact with the objects or other resources from another school district that is teaching the same thing. Everything the teachers use is by their own choice, and to say that it is a waste is simply not true.

Because of computers, the teachers have resources for their SOL guides, even interactive games that are exactly what the teacher is trying to explain, instead of via an overhead projector. I would LOVE to have Clifford visit my schools to show him how many free resources have been utilized that would have otherwise cost the school thousands of dollars in materials.

Stoll's book is a mixed bag; unfortunately, most of it is bad. While many of his points about the affect of computers in the classroom are valid and confirmed by my time in education, the good points are mired in a nearly unreadable stream-of-consciousness writing style that reeks more of "bitter old coot" rather than "scientist and educator". Without the harsh tone, there's some good stuff in here. Most of that stuff, however, is pretty obvious and not worth wading through this book to find.

This book starts a discussion that really should have occurred well before computers came to be considered a required piece of educational equipment. In an enjoyable to read, humorous style, Stoll gives many good reasons to question the value of computers in the classroom. Earlier reviewers have critiqued Stoll for not having data to support his arguments. The real problem, however, is that the burden should really have been on those who have had us spend millions on the unproven idea that education would be better with computers in the schools. Where was the proof for that proposition?
Stoll argues (convincingly, I think, and certainly cogently) that computers in schools were a solution in search of a problem. Why is it that the promoters of putting computers in every classroom, and wiring every school for the internet are not asked to demonstrate the value of these things for learning? Instead, it seems to be taken as beyond question that having more technology means the school is better - this is certainly the case in the school district where I teach. What Stoll does most effectively is make the case for raising these questions. Do computers help make students read, write, or think any better? These questions can be addressed by looking at what computers actually do, how they work, etc. Reading this book led me to badger lots of other teachers to discuss the issues it raises, and especially the question of why we have never really had this discussion, but rather have worked with the assumption that computers must be good for teaching. Every teacher, principal, librarian, school board member, as well as others interested in education should read this book so we can start a real discussion of the issues it raises.