Computers complement television. No technological pathway – neither Muppets nor modem – leads directly to a good education.
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 children:”I, too, want to believe that technology will help students better understand the world. I yearn for an easy way to prepare children for a most challenging future. Experience and common sense suggest otherwise: Learning is slow and difficult … What exactly is being taught using computers? On the surface, a student is learning how to read and type and use programs. I’ll bet that they’re learning something else. Kids learn to stare at a monitor for hours on end. How to accept what a machine says without arguing. That the world is a passive, pre-programmed place, where one click on the mouse gets the right answer. They’re learning transitory and shallow relationships from instant e-mail. That discipline isn’t necessary when they can zap frustrations with a keystroke. That grammar, analytical thought and human interactions don’t matter. In these ways, computers complement television. No technological pathway – neither Muppets nor modem – leads directly to a good education.”
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: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Pages 144, 148
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Tencer, Elizabeth L.