Computerized education will mean a profound alteration in the manner in which schooling is carried on. Those affected will, therefore, have differing opinions about the feasibility and value of this new approach.

Resistance to change is universal and often seems almost ingrained in the human psyche. In retrospect, it always seems strange that some improvements that are valuable and widely accepted today aroused vehement opposition when first proposed or introduced. When autos appeared, defenders of the status quo warned repeatedly of the dangers of replacing horses with machines. They were so insistent they created a still recognizable phrase, "Get a horse!"

The underlying reasons why new approaches are often in disfavor were enunciated clearly by Machiavelli:

It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success... than to initiate a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order, this lukewarmness arising partly from fear of their adversaries, who have the laws in their favor; and partly from the incredulity of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new until they have had actual experience of it.⁶²

Since the proposal to supplant horses with machines aroused spirited opposition, it is not surprising that a suggestion to allow machines to do what humans have done may bring resistance that is more impassioned. The importance of education will add to the intensity as will its history of thwarting proposed changes. Education has remained virtually the same for centuries. Long before computers, attempts to make meaningful changes met obstacles. Many new ideas have been proposed, but they have never gotten beyond the periphery of schooling and have made no substantial alteration in the system. None of these proposals was as profound as using computers to teach.

Opponents will bring up many reasons why they think computer teaching will be ineffective. Those are debatable, of course, because evidence is plentiful that computers can teach very well. Conversely, one conclusion is not debatable, but will be little discussed by this opposition: the present system has proved incapable of giving a superior, or even adequate, education to millions of American children.

The list of potential opponents is impressive:

1. Some teachers, without thoroughly analyzing their potential gains, may feel they must salvage the present system because they fear that proposed changes may destroy their position. An analogy may exist here with the American Medical Association and their original opposition to the establishment of Medicare. Physicians were vehement in opposing this radical innovation. Today, after the passage of many years when they have worked with Medicare, they support it unanimously even if they at times disagree with certain aspects of the program.
2. Substitute teachers, however, will be in a different category. They will no longer be needed. Their opposition to computerized education is justified from their position.
3. Many school administrators at local and state levels will strive to retain the present order. Lessened paperwork may mean that fewer administrators will be needed, but their big fear will be of the unknown. A change of this magnitude will have unseen consequences, which are always frightening. Hesitation or opposition of administrators is particularly troublesome because they have immense power, and they can determine what are acceptable standards in providing education. For example, they decree today that some classes in which little learning takes place can be counted toward graduation. They can also decide that other classes must follow an arbitrary pattern, based on their ideas or fears.
4. Another powerful opposition force will arise from over 1,500 schools of education that provide credits that teachers need if they wish to work in classrooms. Some of these teacher preparation schools are excellent, some are not. Although efforts have sometimes been made to weed out the poorer schools, the task is difficult.⁶⁵ As the role of teachers shifts, schools of education and professors in those institutions must change. They will need to prepare teachers for different responsibilities. It will be a waste of time to continue many features that are prevalent today in the system of teacher education. Some faculties won't be able to make this profound switch. Schools that fear they will be threatened with extinction will, of course, be loud in rejecting a new type of education.
5. Politicians have no intrinsic interest in retaining the status quo in education, but they are influenced by votes. They will also resist major changes if they believe opponents can deliver more votes than can indifferent citizens who might favor change. Politicians, of course, hold power since they control the purse strings.
6. Some parents will oppose computer education because they fear any radical change. The opposition of these parents will be increased as they recognize that some officials - teachers, administrators, and professors of education - strongly oppose this innovation. Many citizens will believe that these recognized authorities, involved intimately in education, must know what is best.
7. Finally, computer manufacturers, although not opposed to computerized education, may give that impression because they will hesitate to act. They fear that if they champion computerized education, and it doesn't come about, or until it comes about, teachers and authorities who are now responsible for purchasing computers and software will take steps to see that the offending brand is never purchased again in their school systems.

Despite the opposition that computerized education will generate, it will attract dedicated advocates from the same groups that will provide the opposition.

1. After they examine it thoroughly, I believe that most teachers will be ardent proponents of this form of education. As I have been writing this book, I have talked to a number of excellent teachers who had had no previous contact with the concept of computerized education. Universally, they opposed the idea when it was first suggested to them. After discussion, they saw that the potential advantages were magnificent. They based their approval both on the need to improve education which they all saw clearly, and on the advantages to the teachers themselves. I believe that in general, the best teachers in the present system will be the ones most in favor of computerized education. They are now excellent instructors because of their many talents and dedication. Despite their stellar accomplishments today, they are still bound by the usual restrictions. Once they are freed from the innumerable menial and time consuming jobs that waste gobs of their time in today's schools, their results will be magnified. Although activities of teachers will be different in computerized education, the number of full time teachers should remain about the same. As teachers develop new and better means of helping students learn and the costs of education decrease, additional teachers may be seen to be a worthwhile investment.
2. Many administrators are openly dismayed by what is happening in education today and sincerely want change. They know that it must be basic and fundamental. Even some administrators who might see the advantages may cringe, however, at the possible upheaval that will occur among some of their teachers if draconian measures are taken. They need to know that serious changes can happen without bringing havoc to present teachers trained in the former system. The new role for teachers that will evolve in computerized education can be gradual, provided the basic change allowing computers to teach is implemented. In the Florida at-risk programs a teacher is present in every classroom, but does not do the customary teaching. These are capable teachers with a history of success. They discover that facilitating the learning of students in computerized classrooms is pleasurable, rewarding, stimulating and satisfying. They can see what their pupils are accomplishing, and how they are assisting the children. Teachers will easily begin in this role. They can immediately be assigned as Leader Teachers so that each child has an individual guide. Thereafter, teachers will begin other activities including seminars, cooperative projects in many fields, and other new learning projects that their imaginations will develop. As administrators realize more fully that computerized education can fulfill their dreams for improved schools without working undue hardship on teachers, many will become ardent supporters.
3. As for schools of education, many professors in the better institutions will see quickly the advantages of computerized education. They sincerely want improved education. They will understand that they must do their training differently, but they will also understand that they will be able to make the necessary changes. These professors know that if schools did not exist and they had the opportunity to establish them, they would never develop the present system where students who could learn, spend twelve years and don't learn.
4. Parents, as they understand the potential of computerized education will favor it. They already opt for adding computers, even though the present use adds little to the worth of education. One great advantage of discussion of computerized education may be that many concerned parents will realize that those who are controlling education are unable to overcome the problems, or they would have done so. This will lessen the fears these fathers and mothers have of going against members of the establishment who would denigrate the idea of using computers to teach.
5. Politicians are aware of the difficulties in education today. As public sentiment switches to favor computerized education, many politicians will become ardent backers of the new format.
6. Students, themselves will be another group that would select computerized education. Wherever and whenever computers are used in education today, the children favor them them. If they were offered a choice, they would choose computers by an overwhelming margin. Adults, however, will make the final decisions, not the children.

How will it be possible to bring computerized teaching into mainstream education? Although open discussion of the subject by all sides, proponents and opponents, is essential, the main force behind the ascent of full computerization will be the intrinsic worth of the system. This is the reason that advanced technology has been able to triumph in other industries that faced initial opposition - the reason that in spite of loud and vehement repetition millions of times of the value of getting a horse, these animals are seldom found on today's interstate highway system. Just as it is now obvious that transportation by horses was doomed when autos made their appearance, future generations will look at education in the same manner. The old system was doomed when personal computers appeared. The only question is how long will it take, and that is not apparent. Forceful opposition will continue for a period of time just as defenders of horses were vehement in their antagonism to bypassing their accustomed and beloved animals.

Powerful forces, positive and negative, are at work in American society today and these may hasten the process. A negative force that I mentioned in Section I is criminal activity. Ordinary citizens will eventually become aware that crime will not decrease without better education for the hordes of youths that now leave schools overwhelmed and despairing, and these same citizens will someday realize that the present system is hopeless in bringing improved schooling. As I have stressed so frequently, computers, properly employed, could eliminate illiteracy and revamp education.

Another potent, but positive, force in America today is the strong push by proponents of "Choice." I have earlier expressed my misgivings about this option as a total solution to the difficulties in today's system. Nonetheless, the many influential supporters of the concept will have an impact. They are earnestly searching for answers and computerized education with its manifold advantages will sometimes be considered.

The final decision about "Choice" will be left to voters in some locales. This may indirectly create another assist for computerized education. "Choice" will be seen as a threat to unions because they may not be included in these new schools. This possible eventuality together with the benefits that teachers and students will gain from computerization might encourage union leaders to improve education by supporting the new approach before voters act.

Charter schools, may offer the most fertile ground for the full use of computerization. These schools are often started by parents because they want improved schooling for their children. Innovation is usually an important part of their thinking. When they study the inherent value of computerized education, they will want their children to partake in its benefits. As the Charter school movement continues to expand, its influence on all schooling will also increase.

Making the switch to full use of computers cannot happen immediately, just as the change to autos required time - better roads were needed, refineries were essential, gas stations had to be built and so on. It probably seemed like a hopeless undertaking to many people in 1899 just as computerization of schooling seems like a hopeless and utopian dream to many today. The Chinese proverb "A journey of 1000 miles begins with the first step" is applicable. The advent of the age of autos began slowly, and similarly, it is not essential that all or even most of the advantages of computerized education be put in place immediately. In the beginning it is not even necessary to involve all students or even a large proportion of them. A slow start is better than no start at all, and will suffice to show what is possible.

The main obstacles to even a small beginning are securing suitable software, alleviating the fears of teachers, and convincing parents to entrust the instruction of their child to a computer. Parents will most likely be the least part of the problem. It has been shown that they are almost universally in favor of greater use of computers in the education of their children. Teachers, and their unions, will need assurance that their numbers will not be decreased. This will have to be done by school boards. Human teachers will remain essential in computerized education, although their duties must change. With the acquiescence of their unions, some teachers will be eager to try the new system which will allow them great latitude to exercise their creativity. These will become Leader Teachers for children in the computer classes, and they can begin to develop workshops and seminars for small groups of these students.

Securing the software will not be difficult if the transition is begun slowly. Many programs are now in existence that can be used in the initial phases. For example, software is available for what has been called Integrated Learning Systems. These systems have not been extremely successful, nor can they ever achieve superb results when the programs are dependent upon the teachers. Nonetheless, some of the software can be used or adapted, and many other programs exist that can also be successfully employed. Software is now available that can teach children to read, or to improve the reading of those who are behind. That would be an obvious place to begin since illiteracy is so detrimental both to its victims and to the schools that must attempt to teach them. Certainly, enough software is available to make a start, to take the first steps on the 1000 mile journey. Thereafter, companies producing software will be eager to supply the market once the beginnings have been made and the concept of computerized education has been accepted.

Even one class would be sufficient in any school to try the program. Each child would need an individual computer at all times, but it would not be necessary to have them all tied to a main computer, nor that all programs be downloaded from a central system as will eventually be beneficial. Many other future advantages can also be delayed. For example, abolishment of grades is an ultimate benefit, but is not necessary at the outset. Children could remain in their class - the fifth grade, for example - and could be tested periodically with standard tests to assure that they were ahead of what could be expected of fifth graders in traditional classes. Although help for slower students will be a benefit everywhere, software will not be required to point out the shortcomings of students at the outset of the program. A short period of ordinary testing could be arranged at the beginning of the year so that children could be provided with whatever remedial software is needed. For students who are advanced, software could be found to keep them intrigued as they complete the standard curriculum for whatever grade they are in. When children make much greater gains in the computerized classes even with the inherent shortcomings of a trial program, authorities will find ways to make the programs more widely available. The process can be gradual, as it was while horseless carriages proved their merit. The final results will be similar. Nobody today suggests going back to horses. In future years it will seem equally nonsensical to suggest returning to the practices of the schools of earlier times.

The arguments against computerized education that were put forward in Chapter 6 have been answered over the course of this book. The replies will be summarized here.

How could a machine do what Miss Smith did for me in the fourth grade?

Many effects of gifted teachers like Miss Smith cannot be duplicated by machines. Computerized education will provide more time for Miss Smith to do what she alone can do in education because computers will relieve her of the menial tasks such as providing information to students, correcting tests and keeping current on piles of paperwork.

Machines will break down and students will be left with nothing to do.

Malfunctioning machines are not a major problem today and will become even less frequent as computers become ever more perfected. For the rare occasions that a machine fails, the computer of an absent pupil can be used. Machines will be tied in with the central computer where records and information will be kept. The worst mishap that could happen will be that a student must start again where he or she began at the beginning of the day's lesson.

A main computer serving the whole school could fail. That disaster might seem to be equal to a failure of a boiler or central air conditioning system, but there is one major difference - computers make a complete backup of everything they have at least once a day or usually more often. By that, they guard themselves against major disasters. The computer hardware is the least important part of the system and could be replaced within hours. Data, which form the vital component, will be immediately copied into the new machine from the backup copy. The absolute maximum loss will be a few hours of work.

Computer programs always have bugs, and students will be left with nothing to do.

Bugs in programs will be continually reduced owing to feedback to programmers. Since programs will always be improving and therefore, changing, bugs can never be eliminated completely. For those that occur, an outside expert will be contacted by telephone. This will be similar to computer installations in business today where software problems are often overcome by help from knowledgeable professionals. If the assisting expert can solve the problem immediately, little will be lost. If the outside source is also stumped, the problem will be left in his or her hands, and the student will go to the lessons of another course while remaining at the same machine. Eventually, all problems can be solved.

Computers can only teach certain facts, not higher order thinking.

This is a concern of many people who misunderstand the immense flexibility of computers. I have tried to give some examples of the possibilities of computers teaching advanced thinking throughout this book, but chiefly in Chapter 22.

Computers can be dangerous because of the radiation that is emitted from screens.

Shields that prevent leakage of radiation from screens are common and should be installed on all computer screens not only in schools, but wherever the machines are used.

Computers can be dangerous because of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome that affects thousands of people in offices where computers are used regularly.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, which makes using one's hands painful, does affect some people who use computers for typing continually for hours every day. In classrooms, students will only be at their computers between two and six hours per day and they will not be typing continually at the keyboard. They will be thinking and reading more than they will be typing.

Computers can be dangerous to the eyesight of students because of the need to read from the screen.

Students sometimes strain their eyes from reading books. Color makes reading less tiring than the old black and white screens. Reading from computer monitors does not seem to be any more dangerous to eyesight than reading from books.

Some students will deliberately manhandle the computers and destroy them.

Discipline problems will be reduced materially in computerized education schools because learning will be more enjoyable than in present schools. The experience of the schools in Florida with at-risk students indicates that wanton destruction will not be a major problem. If, in rare instances, it did take place, authorities would deal with it just as they do today.

The cost of giving every student a computer is prohibitive.

The initial outlay of funds can be provided through capital expenditure, and the debt incurred can be paid back through subsequent savings. Computerized education will begin to save at least some money immediately because of elimination of substitute teachers and the need for fewer non-teaching personnel. Reduction in textbook costs will take place. The savings resulting from better student discipline and improved morale of teachers is hard to quantify but should be substantial. There will also be ongoing lessened costs flowing from smaller neighborhood schools that will allow much less costly busing. Savings for industry, the present providers of remedial education, will be substantial. Eventually, the savings to the nation as a whole will be enormous.

A machine is unable to make the judgments that a human can make.

This statement is true. Although computers can evaluate technical points like grammar, they cannot judge the value of original ideas needed for creative writing. Seminars, which will form a vital component in computerized education, will solve this dilemma. Evaluation and judgment of ideas will also take place through peer assessment which will be available in interchange with other students, both within and outside the school. Sometimes, feedback from a variety of other students might be as beneficial as that received from only one teacher, especially if that teacher is not creative.

A machine cannot teach values.

A machine can be a channel of values because of the information that it provides to students. Many values that students learn today derive from what is taught about important issues. Knowledge about the Declaration of Independence, about events leading to it and about the personages involved in writing and ratifying it, contributes greatly to an appreciation of American ideals. Since computers will provide a superior education, they will also be able to impart values to students. Absorption of values by students will also be augmented by the frequent individual meetings of students with their Leader Teachers, and through the seminars. Some groups have always been anxious to enhance teaching of their values through openly religious schools. This will still be an available option because they will be able to hire their own human teachers. Moreover, programmers can make adaptations in software which schools can choose, just as these schools choose special textbooks today.

A machine cannot develop interaction among students.

As computerized education develops, the computers will be able to develop more interaction, as is perhaps presaged today by the interaction that takes place on the Internet. There will always be interaction among students on the local level in the time outside of classes, but the lessened demands for absolute silence will allow exchange while the students are at their machines. There will be seminars and workshops which will be more frequent and more intensive than in today's schools. A new element will be added with the contact between students in other schools through telecommunications. These interchanges will be with students who have markedly different backgrounds, since they will live in different geographical locations, including different nations.

A machine cannot give the necessary and meaningful personal attention to students.

Computers will give more individual attention to students than teachers can hope to do in today's schools. Every student will have a private tutor in the computer that teaches him or her. Computers will reward students honestly, but prodigiously, as the pupils advance in their studies. They will never criticize or condemn a student by words nor by "body language." Moreover, the feedback given to students will be immediate which is of more value. Whether this attention is "personal" in a technical sense may be debated, but the effects are equally powerful. The attention given by the machine will be augmented by feedback from human teachers in the individual sessions that Leader Teachers will have with their pupils. This personal attention will add an entirely new dimension to the education of many students, for whom teachers cannot have sufficient time today.

Students will waste time if there is no teacher to check on them.

Pupils fritter away huge amounts of time today while their teacher stands before them in classrooms. They become skilled at turning soporific classes out of their minds and they revel in daydreams about myriads of more interesting topics while sitting silently and passively in class. During these times they don't pay attention and they learn nothing. Since they do not cause a disturbance, teachers don't fret. It would accomplish little if they did. Time wasted in schools under these circumstances is immense. That can never happen in computerized education. If students do not interact with the machine for a short, but specified period of time, the computer will be programmed to take appropriate steps to bring the student back to reality. Computers have an ability to stimulate and excite. Pupils will not wander off into daydreams when they are being kept busy and interested. This will be the normal condition in computerized education. The interactive features will be a powerful force to keep students working and enjoying their classes. Wasting time will become an issue much less often than in present classrooms.

Bright students will discover how to use the computers to alter and destroy the system.

If it is possible, only the brightest of the bright students would ever be sufficiently skilled to penetrate far enough into the system to alter anything. Even then, the system would not be destroyed as safeguards are built into every computer system. In setting up educational systems, programmers will have the benefit of everything that has been learned about protecting millions of other systems, many with highly sensitive material. The chances of penetration of an educational system are lower both because less incentive exists, and because few, if any, students will have both the skill and the inclination to do so.

One student will be able to take the test of another student since no human will be checking.

Today, a series of lessons with unknown results requires a test afterward to determine if the pupil has learned the material. In computerized eduction, the machine will be constantly evaluating and will not progress until the subject matter has been learned.

A school system with computers as teachers will turn out automatons, not warm, friendly humans.

Undoubtedly, computers alone can't turn students into warm, friendly humans. Development of human assets like "warm and friendly" requires interaction with other humans along with direction and role models. Teachers will provide direction and be role models. Moreover, they will do it better than at present because they will have much more time to interact with students when computers are doing the instructing.

Some students will be unable to use computers either through fright or incompetence and will receive no education.

Programmers can make computers user-friendly and ensure that students will be able to work with the machines. Fears of this type are usually voiced by those without much experience with computers; they don't understand the true ease of use of present machines.

If computers could be teachers, schools would already be using them in that way since schools now possess millions of machines.

Use of computers has been poor in education. The citation from the Congressional Office of Technology recounted in Chapter 6 about the slow advancement of technology in schools illustrates the difficulties. The advent of computerized education will involve a gigantic upheaval for educators. Major changes are seldom sought by those who will be deeply affected. Even when changes begin, new ideas are accepted only grudgingly and hesitatingly.

This condition is not unique to education. Many major industrial companies in the United States including IBM, General Motors, and Sears, believed for years they were making changes while the companies fell into deeper problems. Educators are the same. Whenever they make some use of computers, they convince themselves that they are embracing technology. Although we know that most humans don't like change, we always think of ourselves as different. Educators have that same characteristic. Although millions of computers have been used in schools, they have seldom been allowed to do more than serve as an adjunct to teachers. That pattern merely perpetuates the status quo. It does not show what computers could do if allowed to carry out that for which they are so well equipped: to teach.

RETURN TO : TABLE OF CONTENTS

GO TO :EPILOGUE

FOOTNOTES

Copyright by FABEN, INC.

NOTE: IN 1999, A REVISED VERSION OF THIS BOOK WAS PUBLISHED BY FABEN, INC., 232 pages, Hardcover, $25.00

TO ORDER WITH FREE SHIPPING, CALL FABEN, INC.

TOLL FREE: 888-671-5112