. 28 WAYS TO DISCOURAGE
CHILDREN FROM USING
COMPUTERS
In the Times Edwatfon.4 Supplement
of 3rd April 1987. Kenneth Baker, the
Secretay of State for Education, is
quoted as saying: ‘I get very
encouraged when I see young prtmary
p l a y i n g wtth
school
children
c o m p u t e r s - yes, playing . . B y
playing with computers they learn to
spell and they learn their simple .snms
a n d a r i t h m e t i c : In the spirit of
encouraging practtces in school which
will ensure that children use
compnters for playing, and for leaming
to spell and do simple suns, I offer the
following advtce:
1.
2.
Drill and practice games are ace for
spellings and sums. You ca” “se the
same program for all the children t” the
class, which will save you from having
to prwlde any other stlmuk~s. They ca”
all do the same pmgram If cmly they try
hard etiough, although dull children
may be slower than clever children.
Remember that the computer is a very
expensive device - like the school
piano or the football posts. So make
sure that it is switched on all the time
and that children are rotated briskly
t h r o u g h h a v i n g a turn with the
machine. That uny the head will be
pleased (because there is always
someone bowed over the keyboard),
and you will be pleased (because the
only sort of programs you can be
expected to get through at that sort of
rate are the sums and spelltng ones)
3. Try to use programs which are
competitive, which award points and
which play loud tunes. They will spur
cm the clever children to be first to
master their spellings and sums, and
become top of the class. They will also
help dull children to realise that they are
dull, so that they want to do better.
4,
Don’t ever let the children decide what
they will do with the computer.
Children are, like lunatics, incapable of
making sensible choices. They should
be guided through a structured and
Anita Straker
graded series of computer game% $0 thai
they learn their spellings and tables. Apari
from anything else, if you let them make
their own minds up, then before you know
where you are, they will be deciding fa
themselves how the class is run.
Be flexible in the way you tre.?.t this “ev.
technology. lnstst that children learn
something ‘about the circuit board
layout of the micro before they dc
anythlng else. Justify this by arguing
that they need to understand
computers, not just use them. You can
also award them a certificate when the>
know what ROM and RAM mean, and
the dtfference between bit and byte, 0~
the other hand, refuse all offers 0
courses that might improve your ow
understanding - it is quite sufficient
that you can put the plug the machine
into the mains, If you maintain thesf
two arguments there is every chance
that (a) a lot of children will be put off
a n d (b) that the stock of schoo
computer prcgrams will reduce to zero
stnce nobody will know how to make
backap copies.
Avoid like the plague any attempt tc
make you have the computer in you
AUSTRALIAN EDUCATIONAL COMPUTINGOC’IOEER 1987
:lassroom for more than cme afternoon I
neck. It would mean that you had time fo
serious stuff, like wordprocessing or Logo
.uhtch would detract from your real purpos<
>f using sums and spellings programs.
Try to positton the computer outsid‘
your classroom in case the compute
work distracts other children. Practka
software doesn’t require your presemx
- the computer tells the childreT
whether they are right or wrong.
Make sure that the computer ts o” z
holley or table which ts just the rtght s!x
for the equipment. If people wen
meant to use B note-book, refereno
material or a calculator, at the samt
time as they are using the machine
then advertisements would make I
obvious.
Remember the five minute rule whet
evaluating a program’s suitability for w
with chtldren. The rule says that if i
takes over 5 minutes for you to grast
every nuance of the program - rejec
it; it is too difficult for children to use
O n t h e o t h e r h a n d i f y o u can
understand tt in less than 5 minutes don’t use it; the program is too trlvial
Very few programs indeed pass thi
rule.
Always set a time ltmn for compute
work. Pressure to finish by the time tha
the bell goes really helps to sharpen “1
their minds. Never allow them to go a
working with the computer after xhool
or during play-time, or worse still
t o m o r r o w . It could lead to then
wanting to go on with their compute
work when you want to get o” witI
teaching them their tables.
Never let the children work together, o
they will copy each other, and then yoj
will never know which children can ge
their spellings right. Although som’
teachers prefer children to work II
groups, to collaborate, and to reach
consensus about what needs to b’
done, you really need to aim for silent’
if you can. It allows pupils te
co”ce”trate.
Page 2
12. Some teachers even encouraoe
- the
~~
to amend what they have done. It is a
children to be responsible for getting out1
their own equipment and disks, and fo!
butting thkrn in the machine. This is a ,
very doubtful procedure, and you
would be in very hot water if they
damaged anything.
course possible for the children to pose
their own problem, to start on one line
of enquiry, to back-track, to follow false
scents and make mistakes, but this only
wastes time which could be used fat
playing, and learning how to do sums.
13
Whatever you do, never plan to use the
computer as pa* of your term’s topic
work and never make any record of
children’s achievements when using
computers. Either course of actton
could only result In the micro being
takeriseriowly - remember, It is a toy
for play, not a tool to aid thinking.
I4
Don’t ever use an adventure game or
a simulation. They last for weeks, and
anyway they are cross-curricular in
nature, so you would never know
whether you were having an Enlgish
lesson or a maths lesson.
Some people go to ridtculous lengths
to display children’s computer work in
the classroom, and even send work
home for parents to see. This only
creates more work for the teacher, and
tray even make both parents and
children enthusiastic about the
computer, which will divert you from
concentrattng on mastery of spellings
and sums.
16
If your colleagues insist that you use a
wordprocessor, then make stire that the
children first use pencil and paper to
write out in full what they want to type
in. This will save time on drafting and
redrafttng at the keyboard, and will also
mean that their spellings are correct
because you can mark them first.
Another good idea is to type in a
Passage yourself with altered spellings
and punctuatkm, and get the children
to correct it. This saves you from having
to mark anything at all. And don’t worry
if you haven’t got a printer. It will be
good writing practtce for the children to
copy out their story from the screen.
7. Do remember that children cannot
possibly interpret a block graph or ptechart until they have drawn hundreds
of them for themselves, using felt pens
and square paper. It would be a great
mistake to let them print out a graph
using information in a’ database, It
would make their brains lazy.
18. If you really are forced to let the
children use Logo, do make sure that
they know that maths is about getting
thtngs right first time. Never allow them
19
If the teacher in the prevtow class has
been doing some problem solving with
control technology, then make it quite
clear that you are not going to have all
those wires trailing all over the place in
your classroom, or children crawling all
o”er the floor looking for the last gear
wheel from the technical Lego kit.
to children in Alaska, South Americ,
or Tasmania, or for exchanging data OI
rainfall? If ycu have to get involved wtl
multi-cultural work, just get out a ‘flag
of the world recognition program, It’
much cheaper,
.
25
20. Ignore also anything that children have
done with computefi at home. Parents
are bound to have bought the wrong
sort of computer, or the wrong sort of
software. They might even have got the
idea that computers can be used for
programming, or for wordprocessing,
instead of for sums and spellings
prograIns.
21
Set children good role models.
Remember that only men are strong
enough to move any of the equipment,
And only men are clever enough to sort
out technical problems like ptecing it all
together, You can get the female staff
to make them a cup of coffee while they
do this.
22
Whatever yo” do, don’t let the children
see you or any other teacher using a
wordprocessor or a database. It could
give them the idea that adults find
computers helpful. Some schools are
even silly enough to arrange vtslts to the
swermarket or the railway statton to
see computer technology in action,
which just adds to the false impress&
that computers have serious uses,
23
Let children know that real computer
work is difficult, and that you have to
be really clever to be good at it. Explain
to them that it is usually boys who do
well, because computers go with men’s
lobs like being a systems analyst or a
programmer. Spur the boys on by
g i v i n g t h e m t h e first turn at the
computer, by asklng them what to do
if anything goes wrong, and by getting
them to show their proficiency with the
software to anyone who vistts your
Cl%rOO~.
24. Don’t believe anyone who tells you that
computer work can make a major
contribution to children’s awareness of
different cultures. Who on earth is gojng
to pay the telephone bill if they use
electronic mail for wrttlng letters
If you teach infants, then remember tc
buy a set of gummed lower case letter!
for sticking over the capital letters or
the keyboard. The purpose is to keeK
the keys clean And o” no account bu,
a concept keyboard for them. It work
make it easier for them to we the
computer, and if you pamper them like
that they will never learn to spell,
Besides, how will the girls ever become
secretaries if they haven’t learned to “9
a proper QWERTY keyboard?
26. If you don’t have a disk drive, then don’t
waste your money on buying them.
Using cassettes teaches the children to
be patient while the program loads.
And resist all attempts to get printers
which will just make life B bigger hassk
for you. Children will start to wan
copies of their work; worse still, the!
may even want to print out a piece 0
writing and start arguing over change!
and additions that might be made to it
27
Don’t get involved In any attempt ti
planning a p&y for the developmen
of the use of computers in your school
I f p r o g r e s s i o n a n d continuity are
mentioned as Important, then counte!
this argument by talking about the
importance of play. Keep aiming to use
a different program each week in order
to retain novely value and also to keep
the children o” their toes.
28
Finally, if anyone suggests that you
need to go cm a course to learn more
about the potential uses of computers
I” primary schools, point out that your
school has just invested In another
dozen practice programs, and that you
have also acquired a few more fror
your friend who knows how to cop\
anything, and it’s going to take up al
your time learning how to we them ant
getting them catalogued. You know tha)
if you got to grips with !_ogo you woulc
only need to worry about one ptece a
software, instead of hundreds, but afte!
all, what use is Logo going to be tn
getting the children through Kenneth
Baker’s nev~ national tests at the ages
of 7. 11 and l4?