"It is commonly believed that innovations create changes - but
few ever do. Successful innovations exploit changes that have
already happened."
Peter Drucker
"If an elderly, but distinguished, scientist says that something
is possible, he is almost certainly right, but if he says it is
impossible, he is very probably wrong."
Arthur C. Clarke, 1969
"Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities"
Aristotle, Poetics 24, 1460a.
A Very Rasch prediction - correct so far!
Here is a report that confirms the findings of Boone & Gabel, "A U-turn on the Information Highway?", RMT 8:3, p.369, 1994.
Why Computers Have Not Saved The Classroom
What impact has computer technology had on public education in the US? That's the question journalist Todd Oppenheimer sets out to answer. His conclusion: Putting computers in classrooms has been almost entirely wasteful, and the rush to keep schools up-to-date with the latest technology has been largely pointless, reports Bob Blaisdell. "At this early stage of the personal computer's history, the technology is far too complex and error prone to be smoothly integrated into most classrooms," Oppenheimer writes. "While the technology business is creatively frantic, financially strapped public schools cannot afford to keep up with the innovations." Of course, this is not the first time US schools have been seduced by new technology, Oppenheimer points out. He summarizes the history of technological innovations in American schools and explains how each (TV among them) has been hailed as education's savior. Oppenheimer examines individual schools where technology has been useful, but there he largely credits the enthusiasm and devotion of individual teachers. The most effective teachers, he argues, are those who know enough to ignore the latest technological products and rely on such hands-on technology as pens and paper, musical instruments, wooden blocks, and rulers. These findings contrast sharply with education advocates who argue that education will become increasingly digital, mobile, and virtual.
Excerpted from:
Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 14, 2003
Reported in PEN Weekly NewsBlast, Oct. 17, 2003
RMT 18:4 Notes and Quotes Rasch Measurement Transactions, 2005, 18:4 p. 9
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