What does society need from schools, technology, and students?

What is the purpose of technology in schools?

“It [the Internet] was supposed to do more than any reform in recent memory to revive
our weakened schools and prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s increasingly high-tech
jobs.” (Oppenheimer, 2004, p. xiii)

“His point is that computers, and their software programs, are merely tools, to be picked
up and dropped the way a carpenter shifts from a hammer to a screwdriver to a measuring
tape.” (Oppenheimer, 2004, p.15)

“Education, after all, is supposed to help youngsters understand and cope with both the
positive and negative elements of the adult world they will encounter. It is also supposed
to make sure they appreciate its humanist traditions.” (Oppenheimer, 2004, p.25)

“… the CAI drilling routines relieved the teachers of having to teach.”

(Oppenheimer, 2004, p. 31)

“[He is simply trying to find a way around weak teachers, which he seems to regard as
education’s Achilles’ heel. “There’s a lot of bullshit about teachers. Let’s not think
they’re all beautiful flowers about to bloom. We’d all like to be tutored by Aristotle. But
that’s not possible.”]” (Oppenheimer, 2004, p.33)

“[Schools “need to tell us what they’re going to use [computers] for, more than just
access to the Net. What is that doing for students? You need to proceed cautiously with
all this stuff”]” (Oppenheimer, 2004, p.60)

With a partner, compare the purpose of school with the purpose of

using technology in school. Where do we get our ideas about the
purpose of technology in schools? What similarities and differences
exist between purposes?
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How Should We Spend the Money?

Oppenheimer discusses money often in the first five chapters of The Flickering
Mind. With your partner, list changes that technology funding can bring to schools.

What role do businesses play in allocating technology into schools? Should funding
priorities be the same for all schools? What factors cause the digital divide to widen
or shrink?