N.S Computer Institute

NSCI in recent times, critical opinion has appeared concerning the use of computers by children and adolescents, especially in education at the primary and high school levels. In this essay, we begin by citing and summarizing some of the arguments given in favor of the use of computers by children and in education. Then we argue against them using some opinions which we consider to be non-standard.Another approach and some more details on many of the issues covered here may be found in . We also introduce here some new arguments.Arguments in favor of early useLet us introduce here some arguments for using computers in education, at home and in school, using quotations.T.Oppenheimer, in a recent article criticizing indiscriminate introduction of computers in schools, lists the following popular reasons for "computerizing our nation's [the India] schools,Computers improve both teaching and student achievement."Computer literacy should be taught as early as possible; otherwise students will be left behind."Technology programs leverage support from the business community - badly needed today because schools are increasingly starved for funds."To make tomorrow's work force competitive in an increasingly high-tech world, learning computer skills must be a priority."Work with computers - particularly using the Internet - brings students valuable connections with teachers, other schools and students, and a wide network of professionals around the globe. Those connections spice the school day with a sense of real-world relevance, and broaden the educational community."Let us now hear a strong fighter for the introduction of computers in education, who gives deeper reasons. We will cite him in chronological order. In his book "Mindstorms", S.Papert writes:I began to see how children who had learned how to program a computer could use very concrete computer models to think about thinking and to learn about learning and in doing so, enhance their powers as psychologists and as epistemologists." I believe that the computer as a writing instrument offers children an opportunity to become more like adults, indeed like advanced professionals, in their relationships to other intellectual products and to themselves." "Increasingly, the computers of the very near future will be the private property of individuals, and this will gradually return to the individual the power to determine patterns of education. Education will become more of a private act... There will be new opportunities for imagination and originality." the computer may serve as a force to break down the line between the 'two cultures' [humanities and science]. ... So in this book I try to show how the computer presence can bring children in a more humanistic as well as a more humane relationship with mathematics."