Children from low-income households in the United States have lower test scores after they obtain home computers.
Shocking, isn’t it? In fact the New York Times Magazine’s Randall Stross reported that economists have concluded that little or no educational benefit was found when children of low income households used computers. Further, it was reported that computers seem to have further separated children in low income households whose test scores often declined after the machine arrives, from their more privileged counterparts.
One of Stross’ arguments is that middle school children are versed in the art of idling and the personal computer may be the ultimate time wasting machine. In a study by the University of Chicago, it was found that there was a negative effect on academic achievement in low income families who got vouchers. Similar effects were noted in Romania in a 2009 study of families which got a 200 Euros voucher to purchase a home computer.
Guess what was the positive outcome?
Well as you might have guessed students generally improved their computer skills. After all, practice makes perfect. It not that poor people don’t appreciate good things; we also need to consider the software, use in the classroom, internet use, family practices, home assigned uses and levels of basic literacy in the first place. I am very passionate about the use of computers for educational purposes especially in terms of the level and quality of training in the major teacher education programme. I am doing my third tertiary level educational technology course and I feel disappointed that courses are so often rushed and we barely get the time to build real competence with the technology. It’s always about the assignment and the grade, it’s disgusting. Anyway, I’ll stop now before I use any bad words.
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Hi Genevieve,
ReplyDeleteGood post as usual. I want to take issue with the findings of that study by the economists , because it suggests to me that the problem resides with the poor people and not in the way ” the system” treats them.
Poor folks just can’t get a break , it is not enough just to say that poor folk are exposed to computer technology, it is not enough to even place computers in the school, that is usually a public relations job anyway . Coming from a background of economic and social deficits, poor people need considerable support, much than what is usually afforded them . They require , qualified teachers, a sustained programme of meaningful student engagements with technology , serious tutoring in the management of the technology and a respectful relationship between home and school.
If there is a commitment to effective education infused with technology in disadvantaged communities I think the results would be much different.
Hi Genevieve,
ReplyDeleteGood post as usual. I want to take issue with the findings of that study by the economists , because it suggests to me that the problem resides with the poor people and not in the way ” the system” treats them.
Poor folks just can’t get a break , it is not enough just to say that poor folk are exposed to computer technology, it is not enough to even place computers in the school, that is usually a public relations job anyway . Coming from a background of economic and social deficits, poor people need considerable support, much than what is usually afforded them . They require , qualified teachers, a sustained programme of meaningful student engagements with technology , serious tutoring in the management of the technology and a respectful relationship between home and school.
If there is a commitment to effective education infused with technology in disadvantaged communities I think the results would be much different.
The first part of your posting appears to be quite amusing because of the findings of the research. I would not pay much attention to this view since although I believe that exposure to technology can have a negative impact, I definitely believe that there are more positive effects than there are negative. It all depends on those critical factors that you have outlined. With repect to the educational technology course we are currently pursuing, I sometimes feel that time is against us. I am not a techno-savy person, therefore, I need time to accommodate and utilize the information and skills gained from this course. In the absence of this, I know it is going to be quite a challenge to integrate these Web 2.0 tools into the reading curriculum.
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