Computers in Classrooms, Part II

Comments   0   Date Arrow  September 8, 2004 at 3:53pm   User  by joel

Here’s a post I’d half-written back in May. Thought I’d at least get it off my figurative desk…

In one of my first posts, I pointed out an article by Todd Oppenheimer in the San Francisco Chronicle about the drive to put computers in classrooms, and the possible negative effects of that drive. And while largely agreeing with him, I said, “if this were a book I would hope to see some specific hard data to back up some of his claims.”

Five months later I see this review on Slashdot of a book called The Flickering Mind by Todd Oppenheimer. “Hey!” I think, “he went and wrote a book about it after all, with lots of research and such. Cool!”

Dope. Had I paid attention when I read the Chronicle column, I would have seen the postscript:

Todd Oppenheimer is author of “The Flickering Mind: The False Promise of Technology in the Classroom and How Learning Can Be Saved”. His Web site is www.flickeringmind.net.

Duh. The book had been out a month already when he wrote the column. Well, anyway, there you have it. Check it out, and be sure to read the excerpt on the right side of the page. Frightening stuff, and odds are pretty good you’re footing the bill. Chew on that for a minute.

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