Calif. He was the new superintendent, hired in part for his computer savvy, but he felt uneasy seeing students drilling on keyboards while a teacher sat in the corner with nothing to do. He was told the same room had once been wired for closed-circuit television before that educational fad was abandoned. Bloom was not sure. He began to talk and write about his concerns, joining a small band of educators who are openly skeptical about the flood of computer terminals and cable wire pouring into American classrooms. Calif. The group's message is that far too little is known about computers' impact on the learning process to justify the vast sums that schools are spending on the technology.
Bloom is part of the group's informal brain trust of teachers and school administrators.
Rukeyser does not dispute that schools need to teach computer literacy. What concerns him is the assumption among many parents and school officials that the machines should be a primary tool for learning math, reading and other basic subjects, even in the early elementary grades. Research shows that hands-on learning is much better than keyboard learning in the early years of school, he argues. Supporters of classroom technology say that although teachers need more training in how to use it properly, its benefits are proven. The computer excites and engages children and allows them to visualize abstract concepts in ways that books and lectures cannot match, its advocates say.