A discussion on how book publishing is no less a technology than computers. In a recent online discussion one participant expressed apprehensions that using technology in school would widen the social divide between affluent and poor districts and individual children. Those that could afford better computers and more software would have a superior chance compared to those with limited means. This argument was parried by a remark that it applied in equal degree to other educational tools as well, books being one example. I wish to add my two cents.
Book is technology no less than computers and the Internet.
Although older, it by no means became obsolete nowadays. The current rush to introduce technology into the classroom might be an indication of a general flaw in making good use of technology in the pre-computer days. In the context of education, technology is just a vehicle of presenting and spreading knowledge. Curiosity, a drive to seek and acquire knowledge, is the fuel that lets technology attain its potential. New technology has a promise to facilitate purposeful search for information.