The Child and the Machine: How Computers Put Our Children's Education at Risk

by Alison J. Armstrong and Charles Casement

Book Overview

In the United States, a record $6.5 billion was spent on educational technology for the 1998-99 school year, while funding for music, arts, and other specialty areas continued to shrink. Yet nearly every measure of our children's educational performance remains stagnant. The Child and The Machine paints a compelling picture of how our rush to use computers in schools has led to one of the most expensive and least helpful revolutions in the history...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1589040058
• ISBN13: 9781589040052
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Robins Lane Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A must-read for anyone who cares about kids

It is all too easy for those of us with serious concerns about the every-growing power of computers in our children's lives to be shouted down with unreasining cries of 'Luddite!'. Fortunately this book has now come along to strike back on our behalf. It is well-researched, well-argued, and written in simple, clear English, and the concerns raised by the authors about computer overuse mirror what I have witnessed happening in the classroom over the last decade. It's comforting to know that I'm not just imagining it. I use and enjoy computers, both at home and in my work as a teacher, but they are only one tool among many. For me, perhaps the most interesting and important chapter was that on the role of the arts in education, and how this vital component was being squeezed of funding in order to provide more (in my view and the view of the authors, unnecessary) technology. Occasionally the authors go overboard in their criticisms of computer use, particularly in the chapter on knowledge, but they're definitely going in the right direction and should be congratulated for opening up a reasoned dialogue on this question, which is surely one of the seminal issues of our times. Please read it.

Thoughtful Critique of Computers in Education

This is not another Luddite style, hysterically pitched, attack on computers. Armstrong and Casement present a well-reasoned and well-researched assessment of the shortcomings of computer eduction for children. They point out many attributes of software design and computer network systems that work to the disadvantage of some children in certain cases, most children in others. For instance, the very nature of the Internet, with all of its built-in "hyerlink" capability, will give only the most intensely focused pupils a fair shot at genuine learning. The rest? Prone to the distraction and ease of "point and click" motions, they are likely to follow tangential digressions and drift more and more away from the topic at hand. They wil also encounter a high number of non-educational messages, intending to sell and promote consumption of products. The majority of "educational" software is described as heavily influenced by the video and computer game design mentality. Pupils quickly learn how to master the "object" of the "game" and score points, but often with only superficial understanding of concepts. Most persuasive, however, may be the authors' argument that learning about the world must involve going out and experiencing it in numerous ways. Sitting in front of a monitor is a very narrowly defined kind of "experience." All elementary teachers, and indeed all parents of young children, should give this book a very open-minded examination. Those whose kids read books, attend concerts, ask questions of other people, and get involved in conversations, will feel they are on the right track after following the authors' arguments.

Computers harm kids

This is a timely appraisal of the role of computers in childhood education.The authors question the hype surrounding the use of computers by young children.Parents are pressured to put their children on the computer bandwagon with fears that they will be "left behind".(It's perfectly sane to be left behind collective delusion.)The authors are not anti-computer, but they put forward cogent reasons why young children are harmed by computers.A central point is that computers offer very limited experiences.They offer little more than rote learning and visual stimulation of dubious value.The young child needs a variety of experiences that the computer just cannot give, such as interaction with other people and with living, stimulating environments.Computers deny the development of the imagination, language skills, and experiences of relating.Child development is thus diminished by the computer.The authors also mention physical harm caused by computers, such as RSI, poor posture, back strain, "Sega thumb," eye fatigue and headaches.Young children are more prone to these problems.This is a carefully researched book which wants to see the real needs of children met.It is a much needed antidote to current computer hype.

Computers are Everywhere! And so are our kids...

Solid information backed by fact and thoughtful experience on what we should consider when our kids plunk themselves in front of a computer for hours on end. Doesn't anyone play outside anymore without a coach or some adult in charge? I like that this book inspries parents to let kids be kids, to grow up healthy and intelligent from a multitude of experiences, including some with the computer.