In part 3 of this series, I describe and analyze the growth and spread of computer devices over the past four decades as incremental, not fundamental changes in classroom instruction.
*In 1981, 18 percent of schools had computers; in 1991, 98 percent had them.
*In 1981, 16 percent of schools used computers for instructional purposes. By 1991, 98 percent did so.
*In 1981, there were, on average, 125 students per computer; in 1991, there were 18. [i]
In these years, using classroom computers was a glistening novelty that policymakers, parents and vendors urged schools to buy and use. The beliefs then were that increased use of these seemingly magical machines would improve teaching by getting students to learn more, faster, and better. Moreover, using these devices would provide job entrée into companies that were quickly moving from analog to digital and the rapidly growing occupations of programmers, engineers, and technical support.
There was an initial Golly, Gee Whiz moment when computers appeared in school libraries and special rooms called “labs” in the 1980s. Then, as prices for CONTINUE READING: Resilient Public Schools: Bright and Dark Sides (Part 3) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
