According to Richard Lookatch, educational psychologist with the Agency for Instructional Technology, studies which show an increase in learning as a result of computers in the classroom are generally flawed. Once variables such as information content and instructional strategies are controlled, differences in learning disappear. Envisioning the process by which technology is used in the classroom makes it easier to understand how its effectiveness is limited. Most classroom teachers have little or no specialized computer training, yet the most impressive software packages take many hours to master, especially to a degree at which they can be taught to others. In addition, once the software packages are introduced to the student, locating useable information can be a monumental task in itself.
Online searches can be frustrating.
There is little that has been standardized on the Internet. The Dallas Morning News yesterday reported that Internet pioneer Dr. Clifford Stoll, an astronomer, writer, computer security consultant and lecturer, is publicly arguing against computers in schools. Previously an advocate of computer training, Dr. Stoll is now writing a book that is critical of the use of computers in schools. When I think of the skills that I need as an astronomer, they're skills like knowing mathematics, understanding physics, being able to write a paper . . .