Replacing Teachers With Computers
Since the development of the Personal Computer, technology has been on a rapid and wild growth pattern. The past years have seen the increase in Personal Computers in the home and school, the introduction of CD-ROMs (compact disc-read only memory), and the birth of the Internet. This international, technological super-highway that the world is travelling on is racing and winding leaving the human race stunned and unsure of the future of many social structures. One such structure is education. As the super-highway grows it seems that one can only guess the impact it will have on the future of education. However, it is impossible that a cold machine can replace the teachers who put a great deal of effort, energy and time into their students. Although computers can provide the information needed to learn the basics in school, a compassionate, human teacher is still necessary for premium education.
Everyday students are using tools in the classroom and at home. These tools range from a pencil and textbook to a calculator. Now it is possible to see students using a computer in the classroom and at home. When the computer was first introduced into the classroom it was seen as a magic box by both educators and students, but after the novelty of this technology wore off teachers found it did not live up to what they believed it to be.(Pickover, 19) Computers are still large boxes which are fixed to one spot; they are not easy to move around. Students want something which they can take with them, like a calculator. William Joel predicts that by the year 2010 computers will be compact enough and affordable enough that they will be the main teaching tool used in classrooms.(qtd. in Pickover, 25) If Joel's predictions come true, there will still be a teacher guiding the students and the computer will be their textbook.
By looking at present standards one can predict those of the future. Therefore by examining the use of computers in the present...
View Full Essay