For the last two
decades, ever since the advent of the first affordable personal
computers, we have seen a widespread belief that computers
at home and in the classroom improve student performance.
How deep-seated is this belief? A few years ago, one of
the centerpieces of President Clinton's State of the Union
speech was a goal to put an Internet-ready computer into
every classroom in the country. From the Apple eMac to the
Dell Dude to Windows XP Editions for Students, we are bombarded
by a multi-million dollar marketing machine reinforcing
the belief that computers are a magic carpet ride to a better
education.
A new study by two researchers at the University of Munich
in Germany, Thomas Fuchs and Ludger Wößmann,
tried to determine exactly how much computers help students.
This study is the largest of its kind ever conducted. The
results were configured using the data from hundreds of
thousands of students in more than thirty countries. As
scientific proof goes, this is about as ironclad as it comes.
What exactly did the German study prove? At first glance,
it seems to confirm exactly what we have always suspected:
overall, the kids with computers at home did better in school
than the kids who didn't have them. Computers appear to
provide a substantial advantage.
But when you analyze the results controlling for factors
such as family income and the educational level of the children's
parents, the study looks much different. If you compare
a child who has a computer to one with the same background
who doesn't own one, you see the kid with the computer does
worse in school. The real predictor of school success is
family background. Computers just happen be more prevalent
in the homes of students who do better in school overall
because those are the homes with relatively high incomes
and highly educated parents.
The negative effect of a home computer is not a result of
some inherent flaw in the machines. It is due to the way
kids use them. Because most computer use in the home is
for entertainment purposes, a computer can become a distraction
from homework rather than an aid for it. Computers can help
kids learn, but the only children who do better in school
are the ones who use their computers for educational purposes
such as Internet research and learning software.
The moral of this story should be familiar. Computers are
powerful tools. Used properly they can enhance school performance.
But when we allow our kids to use them as high-tech entertainment
centers, the magic boxes have the same negative impact as
excessive TV viewing. Believing computers can help students
isn't wrong as long as we show our kids how to use them
right.
David Walsh, Ph.D. is the founder of the
MediaWise Movement, a program of the National Institute
on Media and the Family (www.mediafamily.org).
His latest book is Why Do They Act That Way? A Survival
Guide to the Adolescent Brain for You and Your Teen.
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