"The Computer Delusion"

I thought that Todd Oppenheimer's article presented a very interesting view on integrating technology into the classroom. Having been written in 1997 I think it represents the fearfulness many had about bringing computers into the classroom. I think about my encounters with computers in the 1990s and what comes to mind is Oregon Trail and the phrase "apple, control, reset." I was pretty young, but I definitely did not know much about computers. There are many valuable skills to be learned from interacting in the classroom in a very traditional way. I believe that students need to learn how to write first through the typical paper and pencil technique, as Oppenheimer reported the executives for Mobil Oil greatly believed in. But as my education progressed I don't see how I could have reached the point I am at now without computers. So much of my learning was centered around writing and research. The projects were lengthy and would have taken twice or often three times as long without access to computer databases and word processing programs. Thinking about high school I can remember late nights on the computer typing essays with many windows of research open all over the screen. I can not imagine having to sit in the library hunting through hoards of irrelevant information just to find a few useful and necessary facts. Computerized research has greatly changed the way high school and college level academics can function. In the days of book-based research 10 or 11 sources would have seemed outrageous, now it is a minimum requirement for most work. My college thesis would have been an impossibly daunting task without the use of my laptop. I feel that the ease in which information can be accessed and translated into projects for school has greatly increased the expectations of the modern student and the amount of information the modern student learns. Without access to online research students would miss out on much of the valuable information put in their projects. When a teacher assigns a 10 page research paper in 2010 it would most likely have translated to a 20 page hand written paper before the use of computers.

I also believe, however, that Oppenheimer was expressing an important and viable fear. It is understandable to be worried about what the effects of computers would be on younger students and their development because there was no way to know what would happen. This fear reminds me of the current fear around cellphone radiation and cancer. People are scared because they do not know what would happen because it was new. Often people are scared of the new, because it pushes them out of their comfort level. But new does not always mean bad. From personal experience I would not have the academic successes I have had without the use of technology in and out of the classroom. I believe that the fear of programs that would undermine a child's development has been overcome because the new educational programs have proved themselves to be great. Oppenheimer spoke for a generation of people faced with something new and unknown. I would be very interested to see how he would feel about the multitude of technology uses being realized in today's classrooms.