The Child and the Machine: Why Computers May Put Our Children's Education at Risk

Jane Heath teaches psychology at Ryerson Polytechnical University in
Toronto.

The authors of this sobering and thought-provoking book focus on three
questions they maintain are essential to evaluating the actual and
potential role of computers in education: What are the optimal
conditions under which children become competent learners and thinkers?
What experiences do children benefit most from in the early school years
(Grades 1–8)? What educational system best suits children’s
developmental needs (intellectual, socioemotional, and physical)?

According to the authors, media and political enthusiasm for computers
in the classroom, combined with the anxiety of parents about their
children’s career prospects in an increasingly insecure and
technologically oriented workplace, have obliged school systems to
invest heavily in computers at the expense of investment in books,
library staff, and a curriculum rich in art, music, and drama. Citing
hundreds of North American and international studies, the authors
maintain that available research does not support such a shift in
priorities. The Child and the Machine is an invaluable resource for
parents and teachers interested in the role of computers in the home and
the school. This is a clear and absorbing presentation of the questions
that must be considered if one is to make a critical appraisal of the
role of computer technology in the schools, a task, the authors of this
book suggest, already overdue.