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High Tech Heretic: Why Computers Don't Belong in the Classroom and Other Reflections by a Computer Contrarian Hardcover – October 19, 1999
In a book that should spark debate across the country, Clifford Stoll, one of the pioneers of the Internet and a renowned gadfly of the computer industry, takes an insightful, provocative--and entertaining--look at how computers have encroached on our lives. High Tech Heretic punctures the exaggerated benefits of everything from foisting computers on preschoolers to "free" software to computer "help desks" that help no one at all. Why, Stoll asks, is there a relentless drumbeat for "computer literacy" by educators and the high-tech industry when the computer's most common uses are for word processing and games? Is diverting scarce education resources from teachers and equipment in favor of computers in the classroom the best use of school money? Are supermarket checkout clerks computer literate because they operate a laser scanner? Has no one noticed that the closest equivalent to today's hot new multimedia and Internet Web sites are--(drumroll)--Classics Illustrated, the comic books based on literature?
In these fascinating contrarian commentaries, Stoll focuses his droll wit and penetrating gaze on everything from why computers have to be so darned "ugly" to the cultural aftershocks of our high-tech society, to how to turn an outdated 386 computer into something useful, like a fish tank or a cat litter box.
As one who loves computers as much as he disdains the inflated promises made on their behalf, Cliff Stoll is nothing less than a P. J. O'Rourke of the computer age--barbed, opinionated, and essential.
- Print length240 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherDoubleday
- Publication dateOctober 19, 1999
- Dimensions5.75 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
- ISBN-100385489757
- ISBN-13978-0385489751
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Editorial Reviews
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In particular, Stoll hates the way computer cultists have infiltrated America's schools, and in High Tech Heretic--a straight-talking, fast-moving broadside of a book--he aims every argument in his arsenal at the widespread belief that computers are the greatest educational invention since chalk. While he's at it, he also takes some potshots at the hype about virtual community, the Internet economy, and the death of the book, as well as the scourges of buggy software, ugly hardware, and PowerPoint.
Stoll's contrarianism is so wide-ranging he sometimes flails as he rushes to keep up with himself. But for the most part he hits his targets dead on. Stoll's chatty style and cracker-barrel wit (both of which occasionally grate) seem tailored to convince you he's just talking home-spun common sense, yet he's obviously done his research. Whether he's quoting Thomas Edison's predictions for that great educational tool, "the motion picture" ("in a few years it will supplant largely, if not entirely, the use of textbooks") or breaking down the grim budgetary implications of the high-tech school system (more computers means fewer teachers, music rooms, and books), Stoll's choice factual details--and spirited indignation--blow holes in the pretensions of the digital age. --Julian Dibbell
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
From Kirkus Reviews
Review
On computer literacy:
"I don't think our society suffers from a fear of technology. If anything, our problems are rooted in a love affair with gizmos."
"Sure, kids love computers. I met an eighth grader who told me he'd spent his summer vacation logged onto the Internet for seven hours a day. Every day of the summer. A thirteen-year-old girl looked at me with a fresh face and asked, 'How can I meet boys if I'm not on-line?'"
On computers in the classroom:
"Whenever I point out the dubious value of computers in schools, I hear, 'Look, computers are everywhere, so we have to bring them into the classroom.' Well, automobiles are everywhere, too. They play a damned important part in our society, and it's hard to get a job if you can't drive. In fact, cars count for more of our economy than do computers. But we don't teach automotive literacy."
"So how long does it take to learn word processing? A day? Maybe three? Of course, using a computer requires learning to type. Oops, I mean acquiring keyboarding proficiency. Still, this is hardly rocket science."
On computers, the Internet and the information age:
"For years, we've been bludgeoned with the cliché 'information is power.' But information isn't power. After all, who's got the most information in your neighborhood? Librarians. And they're famous for having no power at all. And who has the most power in your community? Politicians. And they're notorious for being ill-informed."
On computers and aesthetics:
"Why are computers so ugly? How come I can buy a red shirt, an orange umbrella, a yellow bowling ball, a green radio, and a blue car, but computers are all beige boxes? It's as if Henry Ford ran the computer business: you can have any color you wish, as long as it's off-white putty."
From the Inside Flap
In a book that should spark debate across the country, Clifford Stoll, one of the pioneers of the Internet and a renowned gadfly of the computer industry, takes an insightful, provocative--and entertaining--look at how computers have encroached on our lives. High Tech Heretic punctures the exaggerated benefits of everything from foisting computers on preschoolers to "free" software to computer "help desks" that help no one at all. Why, Stoll asks, is there a relentless drumbeat for "computer literacy" by educators and the high-tech industry when the computer's most common uses are for word processing and games? Is diverting scarce education resources from teachers and equipment in favor of computers in the classroom the best use of school money? Are supermarket checkout clerks computer literate b
From the Back Cover
On computer literacy:
"I don't think our society suffers from a fear of technology. If anything, our problems are rooted in a love affair with gizmos."
"Sure, kids love computers. I met an eighth grader who told me he'd spent his summer vacation logged onto the Internet for seven hours a day. Every day of the summer. A thirteen-year-old girl looked at me with a fresh face and asked, 'How can I meet boys if I'm not on-line?'"
On computers in the classroom:
"Whenever I point out the dubious value of computers in schools, I hear, 'Look, computers are everywhere, so we have to bring them into the classroom.' Well, automobiles are everywhere, too. They play a damned important part in our society, and it's hard to get a job if you can't drive. In fact, cars count for more of our economy than do computers. But we don't teach automotive literacy."
"So how long does it take to learn word processing? A day? Maybe three? Of course, using a computer requires learning to type. Oops, I mean acquiring keyboarding proficiency. Still, this is hardly rocket science."
On computers, the Internet and the information age:
"For years, we've been bludgeoned with the cliché 'information is power.' But information isn't power. After all, who's got the most information in your neighborhood? Librarians. And they're famous for having no power at all. And who has the most power in your community? Politicians. And they're notorious for being ill-informed."
On computers and aesthetics:
"Why are computers so ugly? How come I can buy a red shirt, an orange umbrella, a yellow bowling ball, a green radio, and a blue car, but computers are all beige boxes? It's as if Henry Ford ran the computer business: you can have any color you wish, as long as it's off-white putty."
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Am I the only one scratching my head over the relentless invocation of the cliche "computer literacy"? Is a supermarket checkout clerk computer literate because he operates a laser scanner, a digital scale, and a networked point-of-sale computer? Is my sister computer literate because she uses a word processor? Are the mirthless robots at the corner arcade computer literate because they reflexively react to Nintendo droids?
Our nation now spends about three billion dollars a year to wire our classrooms, with an aim of making our country's students computer literate. But how much computing does a high school student need to know?
I'd say a high school graduate, intent on going to college, should be able to use a word processor, manipulate a spreadsheet, know what a database does, be able to use e-mail, and know how to browse the World Wide Web.
But not every high school graduate needs to be able to program spreadsheets or lay out databases. It's a waste of time to teach competency on specific programs . . . software taught in high school probably won't be used elsewhere, or will soon be outdated. Instead, we should teach what a database does and where it's useful, so that if that student winds up running a warehouse or keeping an address book, she'll know to turn to a database program.
So, how long did it take you to learn a word processor? A day? Maybe three? Aside from the mechanical typing lessons, this just isn't challenging stuff.
To cover what I've outlined is hardly difficult--perhaps a few weeks on a computer. Unworthy of much time or academic attention. Learning how to use a computer--as opposed to programming a computer--is essentially a mechanical task, one that doesn't require or encourage creativity.
Of course, using a computer requires learning to type. Oops, I mean acquiring keyboarding proficiency. Again, hardly rocket science.
Computer literacy doesn't demand the same level of instruction as English, American history, or physics. It doesn't require the same amount of effort, either. Spending semesters teaching computing simply subtracts time from other subjects.
Probably because computers are so easy for students to learn, educators love to teach computer techniques. But what are their students prepared for? A lifetime of poking at a keyboard for eight hours a day. It's one more way to dumb down the school, giving the appearance of teaching futuristic subjects while dodging truly challenging topics.
Today, practically all office workers know word processing. Most learned it late in life, well past age eighteen. But some subjects, while easy for a child to learn, are impossible for adults . . . languages, for instance. The earlier you start, the easier to become fluent. Same with playing a musical instrument. Or drawing. Or public speaking. Gymnastics. Plenty of people wish they'd learned a musical instrument or a foreign language as a child. But I've never heard anyone complain that they were deprived because they weren't exposed enough to computers or television as a kid.
Which gives you more advantages in business: having a long history of computer experiences, going back to programming Logo? Or fluency in Japanese, German, French, and Chinese? Which is more likely to lead to a rich, happy life: a childhood of Nintendo and Playstations, or one of hikes and bikes?
When I point out the dubious value of computers in schools, I hear the point "Look, computers are everywhere, so we have to bring them into the classroom."
Well, automobiles are everywhere too. They play a damned important part in our society and it's hard to get a job if you can't drive. Cars account for more of our economy than do computers: General Motors' revenues are many times those of Microsoft.
But we don't teach automobile literacy. Nor do we make driver's education a central part of the curriculum--indeed, many schools are now dropping driver's ed, recognizing that teenagers can learn to drive without intensive schooling.
Sure, cars and computers play a prominent role in our lives. Hey--soft-drink ads dominate our skylines and our globe's awash in a syrupy, brown sugar solution, yet we don't push Coca-Cola into elementary schools. At least, we didn't until educators invited Channel-1 and the advertising-laden Internet into classrooms.
But since computers seem ubiquitous, don't we have to bring them to school? Well, no. Television, which is certainly omnipresent, has been relegated to a fairly minor role in education, and politicians aren't funding new initiatives to buy more classroom TV sets.
Want a nation of dolts? Just center the curriculum on technology--teach with videos, computers, and multimedia systems. Aim for highest possible scores on standardized tests. Push aside such less vocationally applicable subjects as music, art, and history. Dolts are what we'll get.
Mathematician Neal Koblitz recognizes the anti-intellectual appeal of computers: "They're used in the classroom in a way that fosters a golly-gee-whiz attitude that sees science as a magical black box, rather than as an area of critical thinking. Instead of asking whether or not technology can support the curriculum, educators try to find ways to squeeze the curriculum into a mold so that computers and calculators can be used."
Computers encourage students to turn in visually exciting hypermedia projects, often at the expense of written compositions and hand-drawn projects. Pasting a fancy graphic into a science report doesn't mean an eighth grader has learned anything. Nor does a downloaded report from the Internet suggest that a student has any understanding of the material.
Yet the emphasis on professional reports sends students the message that appearance and fonts mean more than content. Kids stuck with pencils feel somehow inferior and out of place next to those with computer-generated compositions. The computer-enabled students spend more time preening their reports, rather than understanding the subject matter.
At a high school science fair, I saw a multicolor map of the Earth, showing global temperature distributions. I asked the report's author why the Amazon rain forest seemed so cold--the map showed the jungle to be thirty-eight degrees. "I don't know," he shrugged. "I found the map from the Internet." The guy never considered that the data might be in Celsius, rather than Fahrenheit.
Product details
- Publisher : Doubleday; First Edition (October 19, 1999)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 240 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0385489757
- ISBN-13 : 978-0385489751
- Item Weight : 1.05 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.75 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,956,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6,845 in Essays (Books)
- #7,313 in Computer Science (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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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.
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 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.

