Emperor's New Computer: A critical look at our appetite for computer technology
In The emperor's new computer: A critical look at our appetite forcomputer technology, Pepi and Scheurman argue that computer technology hasbeen largely uncritically accepted within the school system without arigorous analysis of the potential drawbacks of the technology. They arguethat computers are often used in ways that reflect outdated teachingmethodologies, and allow society to ignore bad teaching in our schools. Inaddition, Pepi and Scheurman make a convincing case that computertechnology is often used at the expense of critical thinking. Overall, theauthor's arguments raise some valid concerns, and illustrate the need forschools to consider how computer technology can take place within thecontext of the integration of modern and effective teaching methodologies Published in the Journal of Teacher Education, Pepi and Scheurman'sarticle questions the automatic assumption that many educators have aboutthe effectiveness of computers in the class room. Importantly, they notethat the mention of computer technology in education often helps immediatebring in funding, attract the attention of colleagues, and createenthusiasm among college administrators. The article
In fact, they argue that computers often areunable to provide situations where critical thinking can occur, as they donot necessarily allow students to come up with novel choices and do notallow students to reflect on ill structured problems and consider multipleperspectives. Specifically, the integration of constructivist teachingmethodologies into the curriculum could be an important consideration forschools debating the application of information technology. Theyargue that if computers are seen as the "catalyst of educationalrestructuring", then poor teaching becomes a secondary and incidentalissue. Schools can make more effectivedecisions about application of information technology by consideringcomputer technologies in the context of teaching methodologies and studentlearning. In my personal experience, I have seen computersused in the classroom as a high-tech "babysitting tool" to keep childrenengrossed and quiet, with little thought given to the educational componentof their instruction. In thepast, as Pepi and Scheurman note, schools have often been guilty ofimplementing computer technologies to the exclusion of considering teachingmethodologies. " Interestingly, Pepi and Scheurman note that computers are often usedin ways that are simply reflections of outdated teaching methodologies. lists ten questionsthat educators should consider about the growing application of computersin the classroom. Importantly, the authors note that many students and teachers fail tocritically analyze the information that is obtained from computertechnology. Instead, the authors note that thereseems to be a pervasive attitude that more computer technology is better,but little critical analysis that assesses how computers can "help us do abetter job educating our students. In essence, Pepi and Scheurman encourage educators tounderstand and analyze the use and effectiveness of new technologies in theclassroom, rather than simply assuming that computer technology is aneffective teaching tool. As such, schools must become moreinterested in first applying teaching principles, and then using computertechnologies to potentially implement these teaching principles. As Pepi and Scheurman note, incidental learning didoccur, but the use of computers in the classroom could surely benefit froma better integration with learning theory. In this view, computers are seen as the "saviors" of theeducational system, and bad teaching is simply glossed over as somehowunimportant.
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