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Is technology doing more harm in schools than good?
At a Hook, Line, and Net conference on Stephenville's College
of The North Atlantic campus which took place on June 8 ,1999,
four panelists, Harvey Weir, David Quick, Alex Hickey, and Craig
White assembled in front of a public audience to discuss their
views on the issue.
First the audience was presented with a pre-taped speech by
Newfoundland Writer Kevin Major. In this speech, Major pointed
out to the audience some of the negative impacts that computers
have on the education system. He felt that the computers were
inhuman, and lacking in the emotions and care that a real teacher
would have. As well, he expressed a concern for schools that
spend thousands of dollars upgrading computer equipment, yet
invest little or no money in books and libraries.
After the pre-recorded speech, the four panelists launched
into an in-depth discussion of their opinions about technology's
influence in schools. Harvey Weir, an active promoter of technology
in the schools, points out that computers are useful, and said
that "There is a lot of useful information on the Internet".
He was also quick to point out that the computer is not the be
all end all of education. "At the bottom of my list is data.
At the top is active wisdom." He said.
David Quick had similar views. Quick said, "The Internet
is just a tool. Our job as educators is to show what the best
tool is to use". He also said that our teachers are the
best resource we have.
Alex Hickey, in response to the problem of many schools that
don't have access to art galleries, stated that the Internet,
"is somewhat of an equalizer to schools that cannot see
these galleries."
Finally, Mr. Craig White discussed his feelings on the importance
of computers in school, and more specifically their use for Stemnet's
Grassroots projects. He feels that they are quite significant,
and said that, "We need more conferences like this so we
can see these grassroots projects." |
