Referat Computers and school - Why should one be wary of statements issued by the computer industry? What does the computer industry want to make us believe?

Computers and school

What dangerous misconceptions do educators and parents have about computers?

Many parents think that their child has to have a home computer to be good at school. There are really many positive things to say about the potential of computers, but it is dangerous to overlook their disadvantages. Computers in schools are often used in a wrong way, some policy - makers even view computers as a substitute for teachers or as an answer to teacher shortage problems. For many educators and parents computers are the answer  to all human problems and for all problems in the educational process of their children. They don't think about how computers affect the learning process, or if it is good, that computers are used to replace traditional instructional relationships between teachers and students. They also don't face the fact, that many teachers are poorly trained to use computers as teaching tools and are supplied with low - quality software. Because of that for many children a computer is more "a drill sergeant, used for rote learning" than an intelligent assistant, what it ought to be. Educators and parents should give children and young adults more perspective on the computer which many view "as a kind of god".

2) Why should one be wary of statements issued by the computer industry? What does the computer industry want to make us believe?

Nowadays the computer industry is nearly as big and as powerful as the petroleum industry. Computers and the Internet are the future, many people say. But people should be careful by believing in the statements issued by the computer industry. Everything which is important for them is money. Mankind has survived more than two thousand years without computers, so why should people today need a computer to live a "normal" life? But however, it is a big problem that computer companies have had success to make educators and parents believe, that a school is not up - to - date unless it offers courses in "computer literacy". Most of these courses are very expensive, and as a result school budgets in subjects, such as language, art, drama and music are cut. Education experts are opposed to separate computer courses where the computer itself becomes the subject of study, rather than writing, English or science.  

3) What do you think of the idea of computers replacing teachers? Are there any subjects in which this is possible? What are the advantages/disadvantages?

I don't think, that the idea of computers raplacing teachers is very good, because there are many differences between a human being and a computer. A teacher can understand psychical problems of a pupil, a teacher can explain something in other words, if the children didn't understand. The children as human beings feel and know, that an other human being is trying to teach them, and that the teacher can (or should) understand their problems. A good teacher should take notice of each individual child. Computers may have answers to every question, but a pupil is not a machine, which can be programmed. I think teaching is very difficult, there are often not much teachers, who can impart their subject to the students in an interesting and learnable way. On the other hand, I think, that working together in class or in groups is very important, because it is often easier and more funny than alone. If computers would be teachers, this wouldn't work, because every child would have his/her one computer. Perhaps the ides of computers as teachers would work, if the computer would be a robot, which can drive around and hear questions and can explain, because it wouldn't be enough if the pupils could only read and write with the computer. I don't think, that there are any subjects, in which it would be possible to replace the teachers, especially by learning languages the students have to speak very much. Perhaps in subjects like biology or history a robot - computer could sometimes replace the teachers.

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- aktueller Bezug zu Österreich fehlt, Problem "Computer ersetzen Lehrer" bei uns ja eher nicht so gegeben!