"Computers and Technology" Summary and Response

In his essay, “Computers and Technology,” Richard Ohmann issues a caution to schools and universities interested in investing in new technology, namely computers. Ohmann argues that even though there has been a huge movement toward integrating technology in the classroom in recent years, it might not be all that great of an idea. According to Ohmann there has been little evidence so far of students gaining achievement due to the use of technology. He explains that this is because technology is “not well integrated into curriculum and pedagogy.” Ohmann also informs us that many students tune out their professors when there is a computer in front of them. Students would rather e-mail or surf the web than listen to a professor. Teachers are also reluctant to use new technology due to the crashes, confusion, and breakdowns. Another issue with technology that Ohmann speaks about is student plagiarism. The internet makes it much easier for students to plagiarize than books do. Ohmann suggests that schools and universities make sure they understand the technology economically and historically, and are willing to work politically with, against, through, and around it before making big investments towards it.

I agree with Ohmann. Technology is pricey, and a risky investment if not checked into first. I can attest to some of the downfalls of bringing technology into the classroom. My senior year in high school the school I attended launched a “laptop initiative.” The program was designed to equip four classrooms with 30 or more laptops. I had two of my classes in “laptop rooms.” One was a math class, and the other a literature class. To be completely honest, the math class was an absolute joke. The entire hour everyone in the class would either be on Facebook, shopping online, e-mailing, or watching videos on Youtube. Our textbook and notes were online, so the teacher could never tell us to turn out laptops off. Finally in March, seven months after the program started, the school got smart and blocked sites such as Facebook and Myspace. That did not stop students from using proxies, though. On a better note, my literature class was not as bad as math. The teachers was very strict about what websites we could use and when. Also, we actually utilized the technology and learned a lot of new things from it. For example, we created podcasts which we posted to our school’s wiki (another thing my class created), we blogged, and before each book we read we would use the web to find a good biography of the author. In my opinion there are ups and downs to the use of technology in the classroom. As long as it is used in a controlled manner which benefits the students’ learning it is a good tool to have. However, I still agree with Ohmann in the fact that schools and universities should research technology and how they can use it at their institution before they make a hasty purchase.