Komenczi Bertalan
On-line
The information society and education
Introduction
The fast pace of progress in telecommunications and computer sciences, and through their
union, the new possibilities for communication and information access, have broadly
influenced most areas of all of our lives, possibly in a fundamental manner. The fast and
expansive changes are expressions of the information revolution. The term "information
society" is indicative of the radical changes in our "informational environment". Especially
dramatic changes are expected in education, learning, training and adult education. It is
thought that these new technologies, and the possibilities that come about when using them,
will challenge the traditional educational system and its standardized methods. What can we
expect, hope and what should we think twice about? How can we prepare for the information
age? In what way can education help? Where have instruments that have brought about such
rapid changes originated and been developed? Many of us are interested in these kinds of
questions. In this study I try to formulate answers to these questions, knowing all the while
that they are neither complete nor perfect. I hope that this study will assist others in finding
their way and will promote their further thought on this subject. First of all, I want to define
the most important principles of the new information system, with a short introduction
outlining the development of this technology's intellectual and historical background. Later, I
will try to summarize the anticipated effects of this new technology on education itself, and
the frequently contradictory opinions that arise as a result.
2
I.
Historical and technological background
„You can't really guess where mind-amplifying technology is going
unless you understand where it came from.”
Howard Rheingold1
Realist dreamers
In the years following World War II, the conviction strengthened that to oversee and use
mankind's accumulated and ever faster growing base of knowledge would require a much
more efficient technology. This was especially true among those who were involved in the
sciences. It also became apparent that the World was growing ever more complex and that
new communication systems would be required so that the globally events could be overseen
and directed and the necessary decisions could be made in due course. The urgency for the
latter was especially fostered by the military confrontation taking place between the two
super-powers during the cold war.
The first artificial moon, the launching of Sputnik, and shortly thereafter the space flight made
by Gagarin shook up American society. To make up for being left behind, a research program
started that in the following decades brought about an amazing and extremely effective system
of means and possibilities, which characterizes the information environment of our 20th
century World. This progress was due in large part to the clear, convincingly elegant, bold and
far-reaching ideas which American engineers and scientists formulated in order to augment
mankind's intellectual possibilities by technological systems. Vannevar Bush, J.R.C.
Licklider, Douglas C. Engelbart and many other fellow scientists, were not left on the
periphery without any means; on the contrary, their practical dreams were made possible by
beneficial conditions. Under the direction of the American Defense Department the Advanced
Research Project Agency (ARPA) provided independent financial backing for such research
groups without any market pressure. These groups are responsible for this new technology,
which has so fundamentally changed our daily lives on such a wide front.2
Howard Rheingold: Tools For Thought. The People and Ideas of the Next Computer Revolution
New York, 1985, Simon & Schuster. On-line: http://www. well.com/user/hlr/texts/tftindex.html
2
Barton C. Hacker, a Lawrence Livermore associate at the Atomic Physics Laboratory writes the following:
„After the war, most of the support for the research and development of computers depended on defense funds.
The money from the military bridged the gap between the laboratory innovation costs and possibility for
commercialization.” Barton C. Hacker: People from Mars in a new environment. The reforming of the military
research and development organization. Fizikai Szemle 1997. 3 rd edition.
1
3
Hypertext
In an essay that appeared in 1945, Vannevar Bush3 made suggestions to develop equipment,
with which all of the data, information and knowledge available to mankind could be
overseen. The existing and the ever-growing accumulation of data had to be organized in such
a way that even the individual details could be searched for and found quickly and easily.4
Bush correctly foresaw that the technical tools that would make the above goals possible were
already there or were being developed at the time. His writing was before its time in the
understanding that this system would not work like the indexing of a standard library, but
more like the human mind with its dependence on associations. The individual parts of the
text would be able to evoke other subjects automatically when activated by the user via
previously defined associative connections.
20 years later Ted Nelson - inspired by Bush - introduced the word "hypertext" as a definition.
The realization of the technological requirements came about through work done in the second
half of the 1960s. In the middle of the 1980s the first hypertext systems appeared
commercially.5 Information organization based on hypertext storage has become fundamental
and broadly-spread in our present-day information environment.
If we want to understand the principle of hypertext, then it is useful to start out from
traditional text. Standardized text is composed of elements that are organized in a linear
fashion. There is a beginning , a middle and an end, a start and a finish. The same applies to
audio and film in which the dependence on a sequential arrangement is even more obvious. If
we desire to listen or see parts out of their arranged sequence then we have to wind forward or
back in a time- consuming fashion.
The arrangement of common documents is two-dimensional and is
made up of discrete physical units: page, table, book, tape, film.
To utilize traditional text correctly, the user is expected to follow the sequence given by the
author. The structure can be loosened by using footnotes, references, appendixes and other
parts, but none of this changes the creation nor the taking-up of this structure in a linear
fashion.
Vannevar Bush (1890-1974) was Franklin Roosevelt’s scientific advisor. During WWII the Office of Scientific
Research and Development (OSRD) directed 6000 American and immigrant scientists in weapons development
from Washington D.C. - among others the Manhattan-project which produced the first atomic bomb. The article
named „As we may think” appeared in the Atlantic Monthly magazine in July 1945. Here Bush wrote in detail
about a future machine called a „memex”, which predicts today’s interactive personal computer with a hypertextbased search software, together with a scanner and multimedia CD-ROM encyclopedia.
4
Bush, V.: As we may think. Atlantic Monthly, 176, (1), 101-108. 1945.
On-line: http://www.theAtlantic.com/atlantic/atlweb/flashbks/computer/bushf.htm
5
Ralf Steinmetz: Multimédia. Budapest, 1995, Springer Hungária, 281. P
3
4
The term hypertext means that uniquely organized text appears on a computer monitor. What
actually is seen on the monitor is the primary text, which can be read linearly, but behind this
"central narrative" there is hidden a complex net of different text and text elements. In
hypertext non-homogeneous text elements or anchor text6 is found, which is coloured
differently and/or underlined. If we activate these sensitive points (hyperlinks), in general by a
mouse click, then the parts are called forth according to the hidden instruction and additional
text appears on the monitor. And in this fashion we can continue.
In a hypertext document, the individual elements that appear on the
monitor are connected to additional text elements which can be
displayed by choice. The text is of a non-homogeneous make-up.
The subject contents are separated into packets
of discrete information, and between these there
are electronic connections that bring about a network.
On the monitor parts of the text are colored differently
and/or underlined, and the associated information can be
accessed by clicking on these parts with a mouse.
Hyperlink: is composed of two parts;
enhanced text or graphic and an address to be reached.
The initial text is nothing other than an entrance into a unlimited universe of information,
which when one enters, gives you the continuous choice of where to go in a continual fashion.
The information system based on hypertext allows unlimited thematic and sequential access
according to the user's interests and goals. In a hypertext-organized so-called hyper-document,
the text elements(nodes) and the previously defined electronic connection-possibilities(links)
make up a network. Where is this text hidden that we can view? In our computer's hard disk,
on a CD-ROM or if our computer is connected to the Internet, among the data stored on
another computer, (no matter where it is) located anywhere in the world. If we click on
Vannevar Bush's name then we immediately call up the data stored on an American computer
onto our monitor.
6
This description relates to the existence of a link at these points between the primary text on the "two
dimensional" surface and the hyperdocument, which is part of the intricate "hyperdimensional" network system.
5
Multimedia
A memorable event occurred during the computer conference held in San Francisco in
1968.7 Douglas Englebart8 and his associates had an enormous impact on the large and
specialized audience with their interactive use of the computer and the possibilities of a
multimedia presentation on a screen. Among others Engelbart here presented the use of the
"mouse", which gives the human-computer relationship a new, more natural method which
operates via visual symbols. The growth of computer power, and the development of new
peripherals at the beginning of the 90s integrated and allowed the use of digitized sound and
moving pictures. This was made possible by machines that could be purchased commercially.
With the term called about by the collective multimedia is one of the most promising aspects
of the information society and its especially perspective use in education.
The use of multimedia makes it possible to integrate and control a presentation consisting of
visual and auditory elements via a computer. Through multimedia programs and their
application it is possible to conduct a personal conversation, influence its functioning, cause
something to happen and make items from its contents appear (interactivity).
The digital information can be stored on disks, CD-ROM’s and also accessed online. The
visual effects are presented via the monitor, LCD screen or projector and the sounds are
presented via normal headphones or speakers.
Hypermedia
If the information system based on hypertext is not solely composed of text units, but is also
capable of integrating sounds and pictures, then we are talking about hypermedia. Hypermedia
documents require especially large storage capacities, that is why they primarily appear as
CD-ROM’s or are available on-line. A possible section of an on-line hypermedia
encyclopedia:
Fall Joint Computer Conference
Douglas C. Engelbart(1925 - ) inspired by Vannevar Bush’s „As we may think” article, in the early 50s was
occupied with the question of how one could develop equipment fitted to expand human intelligence. In 1962 a
study named „A Conceptual Framework for the Augmentation of Man's Intellect” appeared, which brought his
ideas together comprehensively. As the leader of the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) Augmentation Research
Center in California for two decades since 1959, it was possible to realize these ideas. The online hypermedia
system, called NLS (oNLineSystem), developed by this research group, was one of the first experimental
hypertext-based systems. Multiple hardware instruments and software applications were developed (the mouse,
the appearance of multiple windows, file editing, split monitor video-conferencing, etc.), that are common in
today’s personal computers and their functions.
7
8
6
John Sebastian Bach, was born in Eisenach in 1685. His place of birth ...
Orchestral works: The Brandenburg Concerto...
Bach's portrait
A film introducing the city of Eisenach
(image)
(video)
Introductory on-line real-time
pictures of one of the house's rooms
sent via a digital camera (video)
From the menu that appears we can choose which
orchestra interprets this piece
(text)
Ars Rediviva Ensemble Prague
Berlin Philharmonica
Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra
I. Brandenburg Concerto
(audio)
Internet
In 1968 an unique study appeared written by two computer research scientists.9 Already the
title "The computer as a communication device" shows that the authors thought differently
about the computer than that was generally accepted.10 In the study they deal with the theme
of how the computer could be utilized for communication between individuals that were
linked to each other. The keen imagination of the scientists is clear from their opening
statement: ”In a few years, men will be able to communicate more effectively through a
machine than face to face” In the conclusion they dare to make the following statement: „On-line
Licklider, J. R. C.- Taylor, Robert: The Computer as a Communication Device. Science and Technology, Online: http://memex.org/licklider.html
10
In this same year two French writers’ books about computers. (Marc Font_Jean-Claude Quinion: Les
Ordinateurs. Mythes et Realites. Paris, 1968, Gallimard.), which mirror the general opinion about computers,
appeared. In them, the writers who „live in an atmosphere of computers” according to the preface, define the
computer in the following way: An automatic machine, which makes it possible to calculate and perform logical
operations via the use of previously designed program. These operations can have scientific, management or
accounting goals. The computer is not a toy, they write: „it is difficult trying to imagine digging up your garden
with a bulldozer”.
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7
interactive communities will be communities not of common location,
but of
common
interest.”11
This drawing pertaining to the study, published in 1968, praises the fantasy of the scientists:
This drawing is reproduced herein for nonprofit educational purposes by permission of the Systems Research Center of
Digital Equipment Corporation in Palo Alto, California.
For these ambitious ideas to come to fruition, the American Defense Department played an
important role. They were researching the possibility of developing a communications system
that would be capable of maintaining or taking up communications, especially between the
individual points of control, even in the event of an atomic attack. A system had to be
designed where the structure was completely different from anything that had been known of
before: no centralization, every computer with the same level of authority, the machines not
connected in fixed directions, but connected to each other in spider-web fashion. In this way
the loss of individual nodes would not affect the sending of messages. The individual
messages themselves are split up into parts (packets) and independently from each other
reach their computer destination. To financially support and coordinate the research ARPA
established the Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO) in 1962. The authors of this
study, J.C.R. Licklider12 and Robert Taylor, were the directors of this office. When Licklider's
In Memoriam: J. C. R. Licklider 1915-1970 , Palo Alto, California , 1990, Digital. p. 21. ,p. 38.
J. C. R. Licklider(1915-1990) was the director of the Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO) since
1962. His was primarily concerned with how the computer could be used to help human intellectual activities and
as a communication device (medium). He jokingly called his group the „Intergalactic Computer Network”. He
coordinated and inspired the research in which multiple research centers in the USA with their best researchers
and engineers aspired to build the „network” of (ARPANET). The titles and publishing times of two definite
studies are pertinent: Man-Computer Symbiosis, 1960; The Computer as a Communication Device, 1968. In
these studies with the energy of a soothsayer he outlined today’s developing information society’s
instrumentation and communication technology.
11
12
8
study was published, research was already going on, and had established the first experimental
network in 1969. This was called "ARPANET" and connected four universities or research
centers to each other. This was the ancestor of the present day Internet. The work was of
course not finished yet, because there were many technical problems that had to be solved so
that the system worked with the required reliability. In the coming years fundamental
solutions were born. Among others these were the calling up of one machine from another
(remote login), the sending of data (file transfer) and the passing on of messages electronically
(E-mail). Today, the computers connected to the network utilize a unified system of rules and
via protocols automatically communicate with each other at high speeds. The communications
rules for the Internet are called the Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol
(TCP(IP). The message to be sent is split up into parts, and arrives at its destination via the
help of the so-called direction determining routers as small data packets. These packets are
sent individually and "jump" from one machine to another with the best possible route of the
individual packets determined by network congestion. TCP guarantees that the message from
the computer sending it, will be appropriately split up and individually labeled and will be
assembled according to the original order on the computer receiving it. The duty of the
Internet Protocol is the addressing of these data packets, via which they can reach their
destinations. If the data packet is damaged or incomplete, TCP requests another postage. This
seemingly chaotic, but because of its previous history and foundation, really very stable and
reliable transfer system, makes up today's Internet.
World Wide Web
In 1989 Tim Berbers-Lee13 and Robert Cailliau, researchers from CERN Geneva,
recommended that a hypertext system should be brought about, which could handle the
"disorganized" information using a unified graphical interface.14 Their original plan was to
make it easier for CERN particle physicists to access the scientific information that was found
in multiple databases in a disorganized fashion using specialized software. From this system
today's World Wide Web (WWW), the global Internet based hyper-media system, came about.
The information elements that are stored in different places and that are differently coded
appear as web pages in the form of a unified user-friendly graphical surface.15 The web page
can be taken to be the basic WWW element. The web pages also include text and figures and
Tim -Berners Lee was a CERN software development engineer, when he worked out the World Wide Web
system’s theoretical basis in 1989. He put together the first WWW server and a WYSIWYG hypertext based
browser-editor client software.
14
T. Berners-Lee/R. Cailliau: World Wide Web: Proposal for a HyperText Project
Online: http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Proposal
13
9
can contain moving pictures, animated and video sequences in variously sized windows on its
surface. The system is capable of transferring and playing audio, too. Individual parts (text or
pictures underlined and/or differently coloured) of the web page refer to different types of
information, which can be located in the same database or in databases located on different
computers - anywhere in the world. These so-called hyper links consist of two parts: the
emphasized text or image, and ", hidden behind " the address or the instruction set which
provides the browser with the necessary information to download it using the appropriate
protocol, computer and database.
If we activate the link a new page appears on the monitor - from which we can "jump” at will
to any computer in the world connected to the Internet. The web page with which one server,
institution, organization or individual "introduces itself" is called the Homepage. The web
pages can be prepared using Hypertext Markup language (HTML). The Hyperlink or the
address to the information that is desired is called the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and
as stated previously is found hidden behind the selected text or image. The activated link uses
a specialized protocol, the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), to send or request the data
necessary for the information exchange. This happens in such a way that the browser "calls"
the appropriate computer, and after "agreeing" in which form the information should be
transferred with the server, the information is displayed on the monitor. Searched for data can
also be reached by typing in the URL address directly.
the protocol | the server
http :// www.
how
| the location | the database | the document
w3.org / pub/WWW / Proposal
from where
what do we want to display
It is also possible to utilize specialized search software ( or „search engines”). Here we type in
keywords or related words and start the search. The results are displayed on the screen - in
general a long list - from which we can jump further in the usual way as we desire. The web is
ever more capable of integrating other services such as: E-mail,16 Ftp,17 Telnet,18 Gopher,19
etc..
This solution made it possible for the inexperienced to search different databases
One of the Internet’s oldest and even today most popular features. It makes possible the simple and remarkably
convenient sending of text (letters) via the network. Now it is capable of sending any kind of data attachments
with the letters.
17
File transfer protocol: is primarily used for the downloading of software between computers connected to each
other.
18
It makes it possible to login onto distant computers and run various programs on them.
15
16
10
In this way Bush's dream came true - not limited to the researcher's workroom - and went
beyond expectations in that currently this "memex" can reach any part of the world at the
speed of light, finding and displaying all the available digitized information on our monitors.
This global hypermedia- and communication system of the information age called the World
Wide Web is nothing more than an integration of the hypertext-based organization of
information, multimedia presentation and Internet-based communication system. This new
"multidimensional" information universe is called "hyperspace" or "cyberspace" and people of
the information age have to learn to find their way and navigate inside it.
19
Similar to the WWW, but using a text menu based navigation program. In addition, Gopher has various slang
meanings.
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II.
The learning environment in the information society
Multimedia capable computers, the Internet as a worldwide hypermedia system, the school
computer networks, the databases suited to educational purposes and intelligent teaching
programs, and the software that helps the educational process, all provide new high quality
possibilities for reorganizing the learning-teaching environment. At the same time the new
advances challenge the traditional organization of the forms and methods of teaching and
learning. The installation of information technology into the school environment also means
that there is a possibility to introduce a new educational philosophy with the appropriate
means for practical implementation. The employers of the workforce in Europe and the rest of
the world are signaling that there is a need for change by requiring new qualifications, skills
and work attitudes. In order to make the youth employable, but especially as a longer range
objective, schools have to train them to be familiar and successful in the information society
Expectations
There are several answers to the question: What kind of knowledge, ability, attitudes and values does the member
of the information society need? The "White Paper" that summarizes the educational purposes of the European
Union deals with the following important topics:
„ Basic knowledge is the foundation on which
individual employability is built. ……A good balance has to be struck in basic education
between acquiring knowledge and methodological skills which enable a person to learn
alone………. ……..the most eminent academics stress the importance of adequate scientific
awareness - not simply in the mathematical sense - to ensure that democracy can function
properly………………Literature and philosophy fulfill the same function in respect to the
indiscriminate bombardment of information from the mass media and, in the near future, from
the large informatics networks. They arm the individual with powers of discernment and a
critical sense. This can provide the best protection against manipulation, enabling people to
interpret and understand the information they receive….The penalty society pays for forgetting
the past is to lose a common heritage of bearings and reference points…. The European
Commission believes that it is necessary to make proficiency in at least two foreign languages
at school a priority… What is needed is a more open and flexible approach. Such an approach
should also encourage lifelong learning by allowing for and encouraging a continuing process
of skill acquisition.”20
20
White Paper on Education and Training. Towards the Learning Society. European Comission.,1996.
12
Professor Heinz Mandl thinks that creation of hierarchical competencies is necessary. This
hierarchy of competencies would contain the following elements: technical competency, the
skill to find the right information, social and communicative competency, competency of
individual orientation and the competency of democratic orientation.21
Professor Dieter Baacke, media educator, emphasizes that the new generation should be
familiar with "media competence". According to him, the understanding and the intelligent
utilization of the media is essential for the citizen of the post-industrial society.
The
following degrees of that ability can be differentiated: critique, knowledge, utilization of the
media and a creative approach to it.22 Seymour Papert, instead of the previous term "computer
literacy", uses the expression "technological fluency", to make it clear that this is the most
important ability for the new age.23
The challenges of our era, as can be seen from the aforementioned answers, can result in a
paradigm shift in education. The emphasis will be transferred from traditional knowledge
transmission to the creation of the abilities to deal with information, formation of
communicative and social competencies and the generation of positive attitudes towards the
changes. In the following table a few important elements of this shift in emphasis are
summarized:
Determinants of the educational practices
industrial society
Determinants of the educational practices of
of the information society
Instruction of text, rules, solutions
Formation of abilities, competencies,
expertise and attitudes
Transfer of closed, definitive knowledge
The source of knowledge is
the school and teacher
Formation of the attitude that learning
is a lifelong process
Integration of information elements coming
from different sources and perspectives
Teaching in the frame of classes
Learning , in smaller, frequently
heterogeneous groups
Domination of instruction by teachers
Students accumulate the skills individually
in an inspiring learning environment
21
Mandl, H.-, Gruber, H.- Renkl, A.: Auf dem Weg ins Informationszeitalter? Was Wirtschaft, Politik und
Öffentlichkeit bewegt, was auf die Gesellschaft und auf die Bildung zukommt. (Research report No. 54).
München,1995. Online: http://infix.emp.paed.uni-uenchen.de/lsmandl/forschbe/berichte_1995.html
22
Medienkompetenz-die fünfte Gewalt? R: M. Klisik ,K. Nekouian . Tv-film, SWF, 1996.
23
Seymour Papert: Learning through Building and Exploring. Multimedia Today Interview, 1996.
13
Promises
"Education is the best investment". This sentence was selected by Bill Gates, the chief
executive officer of the Microsoft Company, as the title of the educational chapter of his book
that outlines the future of the information society.24 This prominent executive of the largest
software company expects a substantial improvement in every area of education from the
strengthening of the presence of the new information technology.
”I believe that information technology will empower people of all ages, both inside and
outside the classroom, to learn more easily, enjoyably, and successfully than ever
before…..I’ve seen from personal experience how learning is enhanced when the right tools
are at hand and how difficult is when good tools and information aren’t available.”25
Gates thinks that the greatest promise of computers is that the user, following his/her own
specific interests, can enhance his/her knowledge as far as he/she is willing to do. A student
can become familiar with selected subjects through preferred channels and can reach any
level of sophistication. Since everybody learns most effectively according to their own
methods, computer learning programs are designed more and more in ways that they can be
accommodated to individual learning preferences. Computers of the future will be able to
assess the cognitive style of the student and to adjust the learning program according to this.
In such a way the student will be able to recognize his own learning preferences which may
mean priceless help in the development of his own learning methods. The user of the
computer will establish a personal relationship with the program, which will pay attention to
what the student is interested in, what he already knows and has learned about a subject. The
program serves as a personal help, assistant, or smart agent and finds the contents which are
available on the Net and which presumably will be interesting to the user. It is particularly
useful that the students, with the help of computers, will be able to assess their own level of
knowledge at any time without risks. Control and measurement, integrated into the learning
process, become positive. Errors will not be associated with guilty feelings or reprimands, but
with the simple necessity to clear up misunderstandings. If a process is not successful, the
computer will propose that the student seek help from the teacher. This system enables the
student to assess his real knowledge, helps learning and makes it easier for the teacher to give
appropriate help. Gates, making his ideas about the future more graphic, describes in his book
how he imagines the activities of a class, of individual students or of a teacher in 5 to 10
years. In a class one computer is available for every 3 students and there is a separate one for
24
25
Gates, Bill: The Road Ahead, 1996, Perguin Books
Ibid. 208. p.
14
every school teacher. All of the computers are networked. The curricular material and a large
portion of the exercises are kept on the school server and with the help of the teaching
software the students can pursue their studies on their own. The system keeps track of the
student’s progress, thus the teachers and the parents connected to the database via the network
from home can keep informed about their status at any time. The students frequently work in
smaller groups, with the computer as the central focal point, and exchange experiences. Often
teaching is theme- oriented instead of subject-oriented. The teacher gives lectures less
frequently, therefore he has more time for individual instruction. He helps those that have a
need for it, guides discussions for small groups or between groups, provides guidance and
motivates the children. Let’s look at an example from the student’s side:
In the morning, Hanna is greeted aloud by the computer. The exercises due on that day
appear on the screen. They have been downloaded from the school server. Hanna notices that
her mathematics teacher has found a few errors in the solutions of a few exercises and
attached some instructions for the corrections. Later Hanna gives a short talk about a novel,
and she shows the author of the reviewed book on the blackboard-sized screen in the
classroom. She has used the Internet for downloading it. During lunch, Hanna participates in
the electronic voting for the following week's menu. Later she modifies her own teaching
program and sends it to her homeroom teacher's electronic mailbox for an opinion. Opening
her own electronic mail she finds a copy of the letter that has been sent to her gym teacher by
the school physician. It is about the modification of her gym exercises. She can also read the
letters exchanged by the chemistry teacher and her mother regarding the assessment of her
behavior during classes. During the afternoon, she collects material about the Mexican
revolution in the school library. Besides books, she uses CD-ROM programs and the Internet.
Finally she watches the documentation of the daily activity of a scientific expedition in South
America. Her class follows the work of this group every day. She takes only a few books
home, because the homework has already been downloaded from the school database to her
own computer.
The physics teacher will talk about the solar system during the next session. He has obtained
numerous pictures, videos and animation models through the network. He will be able to
assemble material for the lecture in a few minutes, which under current circumstances would
take days. The pictures, films and diagrams can be visualized very quickly on the large screen
of the class and the physics teacher will be able to give answers to the student's questions
using prepared animations and pictures. While working on the preparation of the subject, the
teacher produces a web page with numerous links and associations so that the students can
access the reviewed material from the school library or from home.
15
Doubts
The providers of information technology promise quick, easy and - in addition - enjoyable and
pleasant learning. However, the question arises whether the attractive, colorful pictures and
film presentations are more of a hindrance than a help for intellectual concentration, by
stimulating automatic encoding and superficiality. Doesn't the information which can be
produced so easily by using the new knowledge media cause more trouble and insecurity than
benefits and expected improvements? Is the rapid computerization and the widespread
technologization of the teaching/learning environment desirable at all? Can the new media fit
into the sociocultural system of the teaching environment, an environment which developed in
a traditional, evolutionary way? How credible is the promise of easy learning, promoted
through the marketing efforts of the information industry? Whenever a new media appears,
the hope is raised that there will be a substantial improvement in the quality of teaching and
that the cultural level of the public will rapidly increase. Until now, this hope has never been
realized.26
". In the eyes of skeptics, the current enthusiasm for computers is the triumph of hope over
experience—or worse, it reflects a persistent infatuation with technological fixes for deeply
rooted social problems..." -asks the American Paul Starr in the introduction to his study
which is also available via the Internet.27 In the midst of the euphoria regarding the
educational utilization of computers, it will be beneficial if we also learn about emerging
doubts and reservations.
In his book Theodore Roszak states, that he does not expect much from the new technology.
According to him, the introduction of computers in schools has been promoted mainly by the
computer and software industries and made possible by simple human gullibility. 28
"The computer has entered the schools on a wave of commercial opportunism. One would be
hard-pressed to find another time when a single industry was able to intrude its interest so
aggressively upon the schools of the nation – and to find such enthusiastic receptivity ( or
timid surrender) on the part of educators."……….For the most part, the schools (or mainly
trend-conscious administrators and anxious parents, less so teachers) have responded with the
26
Thomas Edison in 1913 imagined, that the spread of moving pictures would soon make most, if not all books
unnecessary. Herbert Hoover, as the Minister of Finance in 1926, predicted in the inauguration of the first radio
transmitter that the enmeshing stations in America would disseminate the proper and selective use of language.
David Sarnoff, the technical director of RCA in 1939, thought that high quality TV games would improve general
taste throughout the country
27
Paul Starr, "Computing Our Way to Educational Reform," The American Prospect no. 27 (July-August 1996):
50-60. On-line: http://epn.org/prospect/27/27star.html).
28
Theodor Roszak : The Cult of Information. University of California Press, 1994.
16
promptness and gullibility of well-trained consumers to the commercial pressure of the
computer industry.
Roszak is worried about the confusion arising from the misunderstanding of the capabilities
of computers and the overestimation of the possibilities of computer technology. These
unfounded expectations and erroneous assessments add to the world-wide information chaos.
„….. we live in a time when the technology of human communications has advanced at
blinding speed; but what people have to say to one another by way of that technology shows
no comparable development. Still, in the presence of so ingenious a technology, it is easy to
conclude that because we have the ability to transmit more electronic bits more rapidly to
more people than even before, we are making real cultural progress – and that the essence of
that progress is information technology.”
Clifford Stoll, an American astrophysicist and computer security expert, published a book in
1995 which made a worldwide splash.29 He expresses a critical opinion about the Internet and
the utilization of computers in schools. According to him, it is not worthwhile to waste limited
financial means on expensive technologies which have a dubious effectiveness. Teachers
need smaller classes, greater parental support and a higher appreciation from society, instead
of computers integrated with networks. Stoll doesn't believe that knowledge can be easily and
playfully achieved by using information instruments.
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. …… Aside from the mechanical
problems of using computers in classrooms, I wonder how this digital wizardry will affect the
content of schoolwork.. Computers are lollipops that rot your teeth,… The kids love them.
But once they get hooked, they get bored without all the whoopee stuff. It makes reading a
book seem tedious. Books don’t have sound effects and their brains have to do all the work”
In a more recent interview Stoll strengthened his earlier opinion in the following way:
”I personally am unsure whether computers belong in classrooms. But I am certain computers
will not do very much to make learning better. None of the innovations in the past 50 years …
from filmstrips to videos … has proven to be as important as a damn good teacher. That
seems so obvious to me: a good teacher and a motivated student. Between them they don't
need a computer. It's not essential.”30
29
Stoll,Clifford: Silicon Snake Oil. Second Thoughts on the Information Highway. N.Y.,1995, Doubleday.
Clifford Stoll: Prophet, unplugged. Published by David Plotnikoff, Mercury News Staff Writer: Friday, April
21, 1995. Online:http://spyglass.sjmercury.com/archives/stoll.htm
30
17
Neil Postman, Professor of the Media and Communication Chair of New York University
also believes, as indicated in his new book, that computers do not mean real help, either in the
fulfillment of the real purposes of schools, or in the solution of the serious problems in public
education. He states: ”Schools are not now and have never been chiefly about getting
information to children.”31However, in a lecture for information specialists, he expressed
himself in the following manner: " The computer is, in a sense, a magnificent toy that
distracts us from facing what we most needed to confront - spiritual emptiness, knowledge of
ourselves, usable conceptions of the past and future….True, it is only a machine but a
machine designed to manipulate and generate information. That is what computers do, and
therefore they have an agenda and an unmistakable message. The message is that through
more and more information, more conveniently packaged, more swiftly delivered, we will find
solutions to our problems...."32
According to Joseph Weizenbaum, Computer Science Professor of Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, children should first learn their own language, plus writing and reading in the
schools, „to be able to express their thoughts clearly that others can understand and to think
critically” Computers do not have to do much about all this.
Transition
Paul Starr, a specialist in American education, divides the use of computers in schools into
three evolutionary phases:33 The first phase lasted till the early 1980s. Computers were
primarily used to teach programming and for simpler computer-assisted instruction (CAI).
This was a heroic age, made up of a subculture of devoted teachers and enthusiastic students
far from the mainstream of education. The second phase started in the early 1980s with the
appearance of the personal computer that had a graphical user interface and turnkey software
programs. In schools, computers were located in special laboratories. Computing as a subject
appeared in the curriculum, and students could learn the basic skills of operating computers.
More and more teachers became aware of the hidden possibilities offered by computers
regarding major subjects and in the administration of teacher’s work. Students and parents
exerted pressure to expand computer use in schools. Presently, the third phase is being
31
Postman,Neil:The end of Education, New York, 1995, Alfred A. Knopf.Inc, 63. p
Informing Ourselves to Death. Speech , given at a meeting of the German Informatics Society on October 11,
1990, in Stuttgart.
Online: http://www.cs.umass.edu/~ehaugsja/tech/postman/informing.html
32
18
experienced all over the world, with the main driving forces being the appearance of
multimedia capable computers and the explosive growth of the Internet and the World Wide
Web. During this process the computers have become instruments of paramount importance.
Currently, computers are omnipresent, i.e. available for everybody. The computer has been
transformed from a segregated periphery into a ubiquitous presence, with its easy
accessibility, and its presence as the main organizing and communicative element of the
learning environment in the modern school.
The Learning Environment
The success of learning depends on different environmental factors. These can be variously
influenced and shaped. The method of teaching, the technical support, assisting media
material, programs, the equipment and environment of the classroom, furthermore the size and
composition of the classes are variable, and they can be influenced to a large extent. The
socio-cultural conditions represent the historically given and only slowly changing elements
of learning. The learning environment, according to the variable educational, philosophical
and didactical principles can be a system transference or can be situational.34
The traditional practice of education establishes a so-called system transfer of the
teaching/learning environment. The knowledge content which is supposed to represent reality
is organized in subjects, or as smaller topics within the subjects. The system is ready made
for transfer of knowledge (Wissenstransport).35
knowledge, the didactic leader.
The teacher is the active transmitter of
The students are passively receiving information. The
teaching material frequently appears as a sterile, insulated substance, separated from real-life
situations or from the context of scientific coherence. Learning is a closed, linear and
mechanical process and the educational medium is the written text. The process is controlled
from outside and frequently colored by fear. The evaluation is usually done at the end of the
learning process, separated from that.
Failure frequently results in frustration. Frontal
teaching and the transfer of ready-made knowledge requires accommodation and conformism
from the student. The obedient adaptation dampens the development of creativity. Traditional
teaching frequently results in skills which are difficult to mobilize and have low transferability
33
Paul Starr, "Computing Our Way to Educational Reform," The American Prospect no. 27 (July-August 1996):
50-60. Online: http://epn.org/prospect/27/27star.html).
34
Mandl.H.- Reinmann -Rothmeier, G.: Unterrichten und Lernumgebungen gestalten. LudwigMaximilians-Universität München, Institut für Pädagogische Psychologie und Emp. Päd.,
Lehrstuhl Prof. Dr. Heinz Mandl, Forschungsbericht Nr. 60. 1995.
Online. http://infix.em`.paed.uni-muenchen.de/lsmandl/forschbe/berichte_1995.html
35
Reinmann.G.- Mandl,H.: Gestaltung multimedialer Lernumgebungen. In: Jahrbuch
Präsentationstechnik, Zeitschrift für Management und Seminar, 1996.
19
and utilizability. The system is institute and teacher centered, generally authoritarian and is
built on the domination of instruction. Undoubtedly, it has the advantage that it is inexpensive
and easy to manage.
The constructivist theory of education presumes that the child participates in the active
expansion of his personality and his inner world. The student obtains his own knowledge not
as a ready-made system, but he forms it by contributing actively. In this case it is advisable to
create an educational environment that provides a wide space for the child's individual
activities. It should be guaranteed that the students' cognitive and emotional development is
permanently supported. The best method for this is if we construct realistic situations and
during the process of solution we give the student all necessary help. The student is the
protagonist and the help of the teacher is accommodated to his needs. Through appropriately
fashioning the teaching environment, we can achieve that the intended problems appear in
different contexts and in variable perspectives. In this way the probability grows that the
acquired knowledge will be flexible enough to be used under different circumstances. The
disadvantage of this method is that it is very time consuming and its preparation and execution
requires a great effort by the teacher.
Seymour Papert, Piaget's disciple, professor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
hopes that the instruments of computer science will help in the realization of the principles of
constructivist education. Papert presented his educational ideas, which he calls
constructionism, in several internationally known books.36 His working group developed the
"LOGO" program language for the use of children. Papert considers the organizational system
and methods of traditional education obsolete and of low efficiency.37 He begins his critic
with the proposition that all children obtain their inner knowledge by continuously feeling or
sensing their environment. This direct and personal way of obtaining knowledge is almost
always successful. Children show passionate interest towards the external world. Intellectually
active adults widen their knowledge in a similar way, principally with the help of reading,
which corresponds to a kind of expanded direct personal acquisition of knowledge. But not
everybody reaches this level. In the transitional period during the learning of writing, reading
and arithmetic, among a sizable proportion of children the natural striving towards acquisition
of knowledge ceases even before the child is able to appreciate externally taught methods of
36
Papert, S. Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas. New York: Basic Books. 1980.
The Children's Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer. Basic Books. 1993.
The Connected Family. Bridging the Digital Generation Gap Atlanta: Longstreet Publishing.1996
37
Obsolete Skill Set: _`a 3 @s. Literacy and Letteracy in the Media Ages.
On-line:http://nswt.tuwien.ac.at:8000/info-boat/papert-3rs.html
20
learning. When children finish their traditional schooling, most of them already have lost the
curiosity for discovery with which he or she was born. Neil Postman expresses this so:
„All children enter the school as question marks and leave as periods.”38
According to Papert, in the past the possibilities of education were limited by the narrow
range of the available media and by the rigid organizational structure of education. With the
help of the extraordinarily increased possibilities, in our days it bas become feasible that
learning is adjusted to the individual mental style. Most important is the creation of an
environment in which the children become able to learn according to their own interests and
cognitive style. The objective is the achievement of „the most learning with the least
teaching.”39 During the everyday practice of teaching, both the traditional instruction-oriented
and the new constructivist teaching environments and methods have their reasons for
existence. A complementary model and a corresponding practice can be established.40 The
basis of this pragmatic and pluralistic approach is that the efficiency of particular methods
depends on the objectives and contents of education, on the preliminary training and learning
preferences of the students and, in general, on the educational philosophy. Sometimes the
instructive systems-transmitting and sometimes the constructive-situational educational
system is more effective. The traditional system-transmitting educational method should be
applied when a special topic is the subject or when well circumscribed and concrete subjects
are taught. Learning is really successful when it is motivated by interest. When the motivation
exists then learning becomes self-perpetuating, the student takes over the direction of the
process and takes responsibility for its success. If the purpose is not a transfer of information
but the creation of dispositions, inclinations and attitudes or to development of the students’
problem solving ability then an environment of situational learning should be established.
Even during the practice of constructive learning it becomes necessary from time to time that
the individual learning process, which has gone wrong, gets help by instruction and verbal
orientation. It is advisable to create such a learning environment where both instructive and
constructive learning and teaching become possible. The teacher should himself decide when
it is necessary to take over the direction of the educational process and when to assume a more
passive attitude.
38
Postman, Neil: The end of Education, New York, 1995, Alfred A. Knopf. Inc, 70. p.
In: The Children's Machine, 139. p.
40
Mandl.H.- Reinmann-Rothmeier, G.: Unterrichten und Lernumgebungen gestalten. Ludwig- MaximiliansUniversität München, Institut für Pädagogische Psychologie und Emp. Päd., Lehrstuhl Prof. Dr. Heinz Mandl,
Forschungsbericht Nr. 60. 1995. http://infix.emp.paed.uni-muenchen.de/lsmandl/forschbe/berichte_1995.html
39
21
The modification of the learning environment
There are more and more high-performance computers in the schools. Informatics is no longer
a subject or an area of special knowledge, but it is a universal infrastructure background in the
organization of the learning environment. The new electronic media makes possible the
establishment of both a traditional and a constructivist learning environment. In my opinion,
the organization of the pragmatic complementary learning environment meets the
requirements of both the demands of the information age and of realities in Hungary. The
expected positive effects of computer usage can be maximized if the machines are cautiously
integrated into the current learning environment.
The library equipped with computers41 becomes the central information providing service,
the centre of learning, self-instruction and information, where books and electronic devices the Gutenberg Galaxy and the Neumann Universe - are mutually supporting and helping the
work of students and teachers in a complementary manner.42
The Internet increases the prospects of library users immensely. Even if the Internet contained
only text and pictures, it would still be the largest library in the world. But audio and video
programs become increasingly available.43 The Internet makes direct communication, the
participation in cyberspace, exchange of information and opinions between individuals and
groups communicating through user and discussion forums also possible. Electronic mail
enables both students and teachers a quick and convenient information exchange with
anybody who has a connection to the Internet and an E-mail address. With the help of this
electronic information exchange, students from different schools may work on common
programs. During the exchange of their data and results, they not only learn but they acquire
new skills in the formation of social contacts and skills of communication technology. The
Internet connection in the school ensures that both students and teachers have access to a
rapidly expanding possibility for acquiring new knowledge and to establish new contacts,
almost beyond imagination.
41
In the library it is advisable to have multimedia computers equipped with headphones, so that CD-ROM and
on-line multimedia programs can be used.
42
The Gutenberg Galaxy is a culturally significant inheritance among mankind’s writings. (The way that analog
electronic media/ video-films, audio cassettes and LP records/ are all played in a linear and sequential manner, is
determinative of the Gutenberg Galaxy). The Neumann-Universe, whose world is made up of digitally coded and
electronically stored information, was named after John Neumann, the inventor of the modern computer.
43
When I was writing this on 08/29/1997 the conference material was available on-line in real time video-audio
form from California!: http://www.vxtreme.com/live/acm97/archived
22
However, there are also problems with the Internet. One is of a technical nature. Overcrowding of the
lines, especially during some peak periods during the day, slows down information exchange.44 A
second problem relates to the content. There is a lot of useless, senseless, disturbing and even harmful
and dangerous information on the Web. The third problem relates to navigation. Frequently it is
difficult and time-consuming to find certain wanted information. All three problems are avoidable if
an intranet is created in the school. If the school’s server has enough storage capacity, then it is
possible to collect a lot of valuable material from the Internet, even in thematic libraries. Selfproduced
material can also be stored on the school server. The possibilities are, in principle, indefinite. The
database of the school is accessible from every computer which is connected to the network. The
necessary contents can be found and downloaded easily. If there is a local web in the community, then
schools may produce common databases. This would have the advantage that the time-consuming and
expensive work of maintenance would become more economical. The community network
(Metropolitan Area Network, MAN) can be the local curriculum unification system and its basis. In
addition, the system of connections within this local community can establish such new dimensions,
which may make it possible to put the intimate and effective „market democracy” of the Greek polis
into practice. It is conceivable that the possibilities for a generally available and immediate means of
communication, independent of location and the stronger ties between citizens present anywhere in
small communities and city parts, all made possible by modern electronics, will be capable of
reestablishing, at least in part, the somewhat already lacking value protection and norms enforcing
publicity ?
Orienting oneself in the information explosion requires the existence and/or promotion of a
critical approach, common sense and a stable value system. It is advisable to use the central
position of the library to demonstrate intellectual, aesthetic and ethical directions to the
students. The library possesses the most practical and convenient techniques of acquiring data,
information and knowledge, skills which will be indispensable in the next century.
The use of the computer room will also be different. More and more schools will provide
access to computers for students and teachers. Everybody will work on a subject which he
himself selected or learns at his own pace. If a connection to the Internet is established or a
local "intranet" is set up, the possibilities are further enhanced, especially regarding electronic
communication. Where universal access can be ensured - and this is an objective - then the
students themselves learn all the practical skills that they need. In such a way they acquire
useful skills regarding the use of information technology beyond the school curriculum.
It is expedient to set up an information cabinet for the teachers where information
instruments (multitask computers, lasers, color printers and scanners) are available at will.
Installation of such a teacher workshop is advantageous because the teacher can at any time
familiarize himself with the material intended for demonstration, on CD-ROM’s or on the
network. Thus he becomes knowledgeable in the use of the program or if students are working
on the subject, he can help them during navigation. Access to the Internet makes it possible
for the teacher, among others, to find the more important sources of his specialized field, then
he download the necessary parts of the available material or make up lists or thematical web
44
This refers to the ironic spelling-out of the WWW acronym: world wide waiting.
23
pages with electronic reminders. Doing this, he enriches the special database that is accessible
in the internal network of the school. If he succeeds in meeting the necessary requirements for
creating multimedia, then the teacher can at will create demonstration material or study
programs from different sources, video and audio tapes, pictures, magazines, books, material
downloaded from the Internet. The multimedia material, which has been created in such a
way, can be copied on-to video cassettes, CD-ROM’s or into the storage space of the school
intranet and can be recalled at any time.
Technological advances also change the instruments of classroom presentation. The ideal
situation would be if there was a large integrated screen beside the blackboard in every
classroom on which any contents from CD-ROM’s, from the video archives of the school, or
from the database could be shown at any time. Besides that, to help the group work of
students, it would be advisable to have one monitor and one terminal for every 3 to 5
students.45 So long as these conditions cannot be fulfilled it would be expedient to set up a
multimedia room, where the necessary film or multimedia material could be projected onto a
large screen from video and audio material and/or directly from the computer. Of course, it
would be also possible that the conditions for the presentation with projectors could be
provided in several classrooms in such a way that the projector is made mobile and can be
moved into the individual classroom together with the computer and video player. The
multimedia schoolroom can naturally be set up in such a way that the group work of the
students is supported. In the ideal case there would be one computer per 3 students.
Transformation of the teacher's role
In the closed world of the traditional educational environment the teacher's knowledge
transmitting role is the deciding factor. The teacher is almost the only source of information.
He is the protagonist of the teaching/learning process. He presents the material and evaluates
the degree of success. Everything is overly dependent upon him. In the open educational
environment - connected to the global hypermedia system - the teacher's role changes to a
large extent. He or she establishes a special relationship with the technical infrastructure of
education and establishes a new type of relationship with the information contents. These
changes will substantially modify the traditional relationship between teacher and student. The
new educational technology will remove much of the burden from the teacher's shoulders. The
administration or the recording of the student's progress, and to some extent also the
45
It is also conceivable that the students use portable laptops or NCs /Network Computer/
24
evaluation, will become an automatic mechanical process. The information will be available
in digitized form in endless details. It can be downloaded quickly and can be combined at will
on the unified operating and demonstrating platform. The abundance of teaching programs
will promote the student's independent progress. The diversified educational environment
creates a chance for every student to progress according to his or her own cognitive style and
preferences. The teacher's new task will be twofold:46
1. The organization and development of the educational environment.
2. Providing necessary help, motivation and reassurance for the students.
1. The organization of the teaching environment is extraordinarily labor-intensive, especially
in the first phase of transition. In the first line it means content service and content
organization. Namely, the new contents and technological possibilities have to be integrated
into the existing educational environment. This includes
getting to know multimedia
programs, and their evaluation, selection and possibly their preparation. It requires a
knowledge of Internet databases, the registering of sources, catalogs, production of web pages,
downloading and updating of information, familiarity with teaching and evaluating programs
and possibly their creation. It is a difficult task. It means a lot of work to design the division of
the school database information system, the planning of authorization and the follow-up of
educational processes.
2. During the educational process, the teacher:
 prepares students to learn on their own
 makes them understand that they are responsible for the success of their own
learning
 helps them in being able to determine their own skill levels
 motivates and encourages them
 gives advice and guidance to those that need it
 tells the students what, where and how they have to find the information and the
knowledge sources necessary for their advancement
The teacher himself is also continuously learning in the new open system, thus he becomes a
companion in the learning process, who, due to his experience, is also an expert and advisor in
this field. Because of the character of the new information technologies it may happen that the
student learns or discovers something earlier than the teacher. We have to be able to manage
this situation. We have to be aware of the possibility and we have to accept that we are active
in an open, changing and continuously enlarging information environment.
These exercises have until now just supplemented teacher’s work, or one can also say that they are appearing
as new occupational expectations. At what pace and to what extent their importance grows depends on private
and institutional decisions.
46
25
Change of the student's role
He (the Student) is the protagonist of the process. The purpose of the sophisticated technology
in the new educational environment and of the teacher's helping attitude is that the student
achieves the most according to his or her cognitive preferences and according to his or her
capabilities. The student has to take responsibility for this process. He has to discover his own
learning preferences and he has consciously to develop the necessary learning methods. He
has to learn to direct and organize the process of his own learning, which may include the
selection of the direction in the work-up of individual subjects, the timing, and determine the
speed of progress.
Perspectives
I am aware that the previous description may seem like science fiction. Nevertheless, I think
that we cannot even imagine many things which will become a reality tomorrow. The future is
nearer to us than we think. Characteristically, Bill Gates had to rewrite his book after its
publication in 1995, because he didn't take into account the explosive growth of the Internet
and its popularity.47 It is remarkable that the rapid revolution in, or evolution of information
technology confuses even those who are the prime movers in the process. It seems that Arthur
C. Clarke is right when he writes that there is only one certainty about the future, and that is
that it will be different than what we can fathom.48
A basic concern for schools should be that they adapt as early as possible to the challenges of
our era. Parents are deeply convinced that computer skills will play an important role in the
careers of their children. The traditional educational system progressively loses its prerogative
that it is the only representative of knowledge transfer. Lewis J. Perelman's much disputed
book " School’s Out" tries to convince the American taxpayers that the new information
media and the system of public education are incompatible and therefore, in the interest of
healthy economic growth, the latter should simply be scrapped.49 Seymour Papert in his newly
published book emphasizes the importance of the learning-at-home culture as compared to
the poor effectiveness of the school-style learning. He discusses how parents could effectively
promote the computerized home-learning of their children.50 Most futurologists believe that
„we didn't expect that within two years the Internet would captivate the whole industry and the public's
imagination.” Gates, Bill: The Road Ahead. 1996, Penguin Books. Preface to the second Edition, x. p.
48
Arthur C. Clark: Profiles of the Future, 1962.
49
Lewis J. Perelman: School's Out. Hyperlearning. The New Technology, and the End of Education
William Morrow and Co.
50
Seymour Papert: The Connected Family. Atlanta, 1996, Longstreet Publishing.
47
26
the new advances upgrade the teacher's profession. Bill Gates has the same opinion when he
writes in his previously cited book:
„ …The future of teaching looks bright. Educators who bring energy and creativity to
a classroom will thrive.”
I myself agree with the futurologists and think that the value of good teachers and good
schools will increase exactly because of the challenges of our era. However, instant access to
data and information doesn't mean that knowledge has been acquired automatically. Those
researchers who dreamed about and realized the technology of the information age, from Bush
to Tim Berbers-Lee, possessed great intellects and deep mental abilities. The Internet and the
web have been created by the cooperation of knowledge workers in university circles who
were engaged in basic research. To use the worldwide collective knowledge system
intelligently, one has to have excellent intellectual prerogatives.51 These skills cannot be
acquired by simply sitting in front of the computer and surfing the Internet. The philosopher
Jürgen Mittelstrass states a profound truth when he writes:
"The information superhighway actually presupposes that the mind is independent
and has an ability to judge. It doesn’t create it....and that is possibly our problem."52
Everybody needs an „a priori” inner web: his or her personal neural net. This is essentially a
hypermedia system that makes us suitable to take advantage of the indefinite possibilities of
the outer web. The teacher may be the master craftsman who determines what the minimal
contents necessary for an effective inner web should be and how they should be utilized.
The school is the place where all this can happen with the right timing and in the appropriate
sequence. We should mention that due to the current advance of
user-friendly graphic
programs it is not primarily important that the utilization of computers is learned first.
The trend is that the machines will accommodate to the humans.53 It will be much more
important to have a well-rounded education and to know the lingua franca of the information
age, the English language. Another factor which makes the teacher indispensable is an
increasing demand for an assembly of properties: curiosity, motivation, openness, sensitivity,
inner stability and a determinedly positive value system. In order for the student to acquire
such properties, the teacher can do a lot. Through the study of multimedia programs and
adaptive teaching software I gained a strong appreciation of the value of a good teacher. He
„Um eine gute Frage zu stellen, muss man schon viel Wissen!” / Prof J. Weizenbaum/ In: Der Mensch im
Datennetz.Tv-film, Bayerische Rundfunk 1996, R: Wolfgang.Hedinger
52
Informations Highway setzt eigentlich den selbständigen, urteilsstarken Verspand voraus. Er bildet ihn
nicht.Und das ist möglicherweise unser Problem.” In: Internet, Netz der Netze. TV- film, WDR, M. Schneider
53
„instead of making students sophisticated enough to use computers, it made computers simple enough for
students to use.” Starr Paul.: i.m. 4. p.
51
27
produces a superb multimedia presentation. He associates high-level interactivity to the visual
and auditory elements, creating a teaching program accommodated to the cognitive
capabilities of the students. He applies a large amount of continuously updated software, and
in addition, he demonstrates societal values and gives personal examples. He praises,
encourages, consoles and yes, if it is necessary, he disciplines and penalizes.
While we are talking about technology, we should not forget that our purpose is the increase of
educational standards and effectiveness. The efficiency does not depend exclusively and
primarily on the technology, but it is a function of the entire educational environment.54 It is
desirable to realize this in these days, when "the technology is now- but, alas, the money is not",
as an educator from a richer country than ours says.55 During our progressive development we
have to think of alternative and complementary strategies. It is possible that "softer" and less
expensive methods are more effective in some areas. It is possible that the employment of a good
school psychologist means more than a few new computers. It is possible that if we enable our
students to learn more effectively, a substantial improvement can be achieved even without
computers. It is also possible that the new educational methods, which are associated with
computer usage, will be more effectively utilized with fewer computers but with a better
prepared and appropriately motivated teacher community. It is certain that the explosive spread
of the new technology will accelerate the transformation of the traditional educational system.
The thinking and planning in a complex learning environment and the corresponding practice
gains importance every day. Perhaps the most significant factor is that we induce the ability for
independent knowledge acquisition in the children and we make them able to renew their skills
throughout their entire lifetime. The general spread of computers in schools raises many
questions. There is widespread confusion regarding how in a rapidly changing environment the
great new possibilities can be utilized efficiently. There is a feverish search for solutions. We
should be aware that an overly enthusiastic approach towards the new technologies can produce
disappointments. I am convinced that there is no royal way to the acquisition of productive skills.
Still the most important link in the school is the one that leads the student to the appropriate page
in the textbook. We do not know what the future will bring. When substantially new technologies
are introduced, it is usually expected that the human condition will be perfected and improved.
Is it possible that this hope will be fulfilled this time?
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New Times Demand New Ways of Learning. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/edtalk/newtimes.htm
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Starr,Paul.: i.m. 10. p.
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