The Book of the Week is “Silicon Snake Oil” by Clifford Stoll. This prescient book (published in 1996) presents evidence that the use of technology in certain areas of our lives, such as in education, is not necessarily a cure-all.
Here is an excerpt describing what happened when the author’s machine was malfunctioning: “…so I grovel before a technician or pay a long-distance fee to get lost in a thicket of automated help messages…”
Just a few problems in American schools include overcrowding, poor teaching, poor security and budget shortfalls. “Computers address none of these problems.” Just because technology might “make learning fun” does not mean students learn any better. It just makes curriculum suppliers richer.
This is a thought-provoking book.
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