HOW COMPUTERS MAKE OUR KIDS STUPID

@article{citeulike:310634, abstract = {This article focuses on the effect of computers in the education of children in schools in Canada. It's never been easier for kids to get their fingertips on a keyboard or to cruise cyberspace. Statistics Canada reports three out of four households with school-aged children regularly access the Internet, and a growing number of users are turning to high-speed connections. Our schools now have about a million computers, 93 per cent of which are online. Yet, in bucking the trend, the Toronto Waldorf School -- home to Les Black's class -- is arguably doing its students a favour. While computers clearly have a place in education (Waldorf introduces them in Grade 9), the evidence is mounting that our obsessive use of information technology is dumbing us down, adults as well as kids. While they can be engaging and resourceful tools for learning -- if used in moderation -- computers and the Internet can also distract kids from homework, encourage superficial and uncritical thinking, replace face-to-face interaction between students and teachers, and lead to compulsive behaviour. At least some teens recognize the problem. University of Munich economists Thomas Fuchs and Ludger Woessmann analyzed the results of the OECD's PISA international standardized tests. Not only did they tap into a massive subject pool -- 174,000 15-year-olds in reading, 97,000 each in math and science from 31 countries (including Canada) -- but they were also able, because participants filled out extensively detailed surveys, to control for other possible outside influences, something remarkably few studies do. At school, the economists found, some exposure to computers seems beneficial. The accoutrements and relentless upgrading that computer demand are expensive. South of the border, the Alliance for Childhood, a group of 60 health, child-development, education and technology experts, has called for a moratorium on new computers for preschool and elementary classrooms.}, author = {Ferguson, Sue }, citeulike-article-id = {310634}, comment = {wooah! a negative piece}, journal = {Maclean's}, keywords = {computers, kids, lit-review, negative, stupid}, month = {June}, number = {23}, pages = {24--30}, posted-at = {2005-09-01 23:04:27}, priority = {0}, title = {HOW COMPUTERS MAKE OUR KIDS STUPID}, url = {http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/education/article.jsp?content=20050606\_106930\_106930}, volume = {118}, year = {2005} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:310634 L3 - citeulike-article-id:310634 TI - HOW COMPUTERS MAKE OUR KIDS STUPID JF - Maclean's VL - 118 IS - 23 SP - 24 EP - 30 N2 - This article focuses on the effect of computers in the education of children in schools in Canada. It's never been easier for kids to get their fingertips on a keyboard or to cruise cyberspace. Statistics Canada reports three out of four households with school-aged children regularly access the Internet, and a growing number of users are turning to high-speed connections. Our schools now have about a million computers, 93 per cent of which are online. Yet, in bucking the trend, the Toronto Waldorf School -- home to Les Black's class -- is arguably doing its students a favour. While computers clearly have a place in education (Waldorf introduces them in Grade 9), the evidence is mounting that our obsessive use of information technology is dumbing us down, adults as well as kids. While they can be engaging and resourceful tools for learning -- if used in moderation -- computers and the Internet can also distract kids from homework, encourage superficial and uncritical thinking, replace face-to-face interaction between students and teachers, and lead to compulsive behaviour. At least some teens recognize the problem. University of Munich economists Thomas Fuchs and Ludger Woessmann analyzed the results of the OECD's PISA international standardized tests. Not only did they tap into a massive subject pool -- 174,000 15-year-olds in reading, 97,000 each in math and science from 31 countries (including Canada) -- but they were also able, because participants filled out extensively detailed surveys, to control for other possible outside influences, something remarkably few studies do. At school, the economists found, some exposure to computers seems beneficial. The accoutrements and relentless upgrading that computer demand are expensive. South of the border, the Alliance for Childhood, a group of 60 health, child-development, education and technology experts, has called for a moratorium on new computers for preschool and elementary classrooms. KW - computers KW - kids KW - lit-review KW - negative KW - stupid N1 - wooah! a negative piece AU - Ferguson, Sue PY - 2005/06/06/ UR - http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/education/article.jsp?content=20050606_106930_106930 ER -