Quote:
| "There's this sort of bizarre belief that computers cast a spell over students and teachers and schools," says Christopher Dede, professor of learning technologies at the Harvard School of Education. "Can you imagine what would happen if you had the same in business, asking if computers were interfering with performance? It would be a big joke." |
If Christopher Dade is saying what I think he is saying, it is a remarkably silly statement. The addition of computers no more guarantees success in business than it does in school. I've seen people misuse computers in business settings with disastrous results and I've seen people deploy them sensibly with great results.
On a second level, for all those people with carpal tunnel syndrome and eye problems from using computers, they do have a definite effect on individual performance. Oddly enough, this aspect is never mentioned in relation to children, that I have come across, anyway. It seems very possible to me that children are using computers that are not appropriate to their size a lot of the time, especially in schools. Do schools have computer set ups that can be individually customized to the child's height? Do they have small keyboards for small hands? Do they monitor for eyestrain? And how about at home? Do people buy a special set up for their kids?
Just in the interests of disclosure, I am a waldorf mom and now a waldorf grandmother, so I'm under occult influences :LOL
Nana
