The irrelevance of the machine

Abstract

We've all heard the expression "can't see the forest for the trees." But when considering the role of technology in education, it seems that many of us suffer from this obscured view. Of course, it's easy to understand why: new tools are sometimes fascinating, and new technologies often enjoy a certain coolness quotient. But ultimately, it is the way in which these technologies are incorporated into the classroom -- and their underlying pedagogy -- that is the foremost determiner of whether the educational treatment will facilitate learning. The hardware and software are largely irrelevant. The truly important issue here is what the student needs to learn, and how the tools support that learning.

Index Terms

• Applied computing

  • Education

• Social and professional topics

  • Professional topics

    • Computing education