Study: Computers Assist Little In Education Obsession With Technology Compromises Kids’ Quality Time With Caring Adults
Traditional educational values have been eclipsed by an obsession with technology in recent years, creating an unhealthy learning environment for children.
So says a coalition of doctors, educators and child development specialists who have spent two years studying the role that computers play in the education of children. These specialists are calling for a temporary moratorium on computers in the lives of children.
The group, the Alliance for Childhood, says in a report released Tuesday that computers pose serious health hazards to children and take away from the strong personal bonds with caring adults needed for meaningful education.
The specialists criticize teachers for placing an inordinate emphasis on technology skills while ignoring the urgent social and educational needs of low-income children.
According to the report, “Fool’s Gold: A Critical Look at Computers and Childhood,” computers are playing a major role in reshaping children’s lives at home and at school. “Common sense dictates we consider the potential harms, as well as the promised benefit,” it says.
“We are calling for a moratorium on further introduction of computers,” said Edward Miller, an educational policy analyst, former editor of the Harvard Education Letter and co-author of the study. “We are asking schools and parents to take a critical look at what the kids are doing with the computers. Such a critical look will reveal that most (computer) usage is a waste of time.”
In addition, the College Park, Md.-based alliance found that major health hazards can result from overuse at an early age, including repetitive stress injuries, eye strain, obesity, social isolation, and, for some, long-term damage to physical, emotional or intellectual development.
“When you look at the research, you find that there’s very little evidence of significant gains in schooling,” said Joan Almon, a former kindergarten teacher who is the national coordinator for the alliance. “Computers have not led to the gains one would expect.”
The cost of computers and the time children must spend with the machines “are displacing other programs,” Almon said.
Almon and Edwards are two of the 75 academic and professional educators who are taking a closer look at the role technology holds in the classroom. The group includes professors from Harvard, Stanford and the University of California at Berkeley.
“There’s a real underlying concern that individual people have been a little afraid of standing up. As a group, they’re willing to say something,” said Colleen Cordes, a co-author of the report. “Our real hope is to open a national conversation on this issue.”
Thirty years of research on educational technology has produced just one clear link between computers and children’s learning, the group contends. Drill-and-practice programs appear to improve scores modestly on some standardized tests, in narrow skill areas.
“Other than that,” wrote Larry Cuban, a Stanford University professor who is former president of the American Educational Research Association, “there is no clear, commanding body of evidence that students’ sustained use of multimedia machines, the Internet, word processing, spreadsheets and other popular applications has any impact on academic achievement.”
The report also notes that technology may hamper children’s intellectual growth by taking away time communicating with adults. “Time for real talk with parents and teachers is critical,” Cordes writes. “Similarly, academic success requires focused attention, listening, and persistence.”
Ray Porter, a San Francisco teacher who specializes in procuring cheap, used computers for the district, said computers in schools make up for a huge socioeconomic schism in society.
“Sometimes, well-intentioned academics don’t realize that for some students, the only access they have to technology is at their schools,” Porter said. “We can’t forget about children who can’t afford computers at home.”