What does computer literacy mean to a child who can’t read at grade level and can’t interpret what she reads? … Have we ever spoken of automobile literacy or microwave oven literacy?
Predictor: Stoll, Clifford
Prediction, in context:In his 1995 book “Silicon Snake Oil,” writer Clifford Stoll shares his take on the Internet’s future implications for education:”What does computer literacy mean to a child who can’t read at grade level and can’t interpret what she reads? … Have we ever spoken of automobile literacy or microwave oven literacy? … If schools encourage inquisitiveness and exploration and a lust for knowledge, kids won’t be afraid of learning computers. They won’t have a hard time with literature, science and history, either. But when schools pressure kids to know computers inside and out, naturally some students will fail. Others will become automatons, memorizing instructions without engaging their minds.”
Biography:Clifford Stoll was an astrophysicist who also wrote the influential books “Silicon Snake Oil” (1995) and “The Cuckoo’s Egg.” A long-time network user, Stoll made “Silicon Snake Oil” his platform for finding fault with the Internet hype of the early 1990s. He pointed out the pitfalls of a completely networked society and offered arguments in opposition to the hype. (Author/Editor/Journalist.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Getting, Sharing Information
Subtopic: E-learning
Name of publication: Silicon Snake Oil
Title, headline, chapter name: On Classrooms, With and Without Computers; Some Basic Astrophysics for the Intrepid
Quote Type: Paraphrase
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 128
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Tencer, Elizabeth L.