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J. EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS, Vol. 30(4) 379-388, 2001-2002
RETHINKINGTHECOMPUTERINEDUCATION
JAMES E. GALL
University of Northern Colorado
ABSTRACT
The computer has had a profound impact on our society, yet educatorscontinue to struggle with its influence both inside and outside the classroom.This article recounts pivotal events in the development of the moderncomputer and its role in education. These events are described not only interms of their technical importance, but also as influencing our veryconception of the “computer.” The author suggests that rather than solelyfocusing on networked, personal computers, the future of educationaltechnology may lie in the use of specialized, economical computing devices built around open software solutions.
The computer has had a profound impact on our society. Large organizationswithin government, industry, finance, etc. have long depended on the efficiencyand relative reliability of automating their operations. Personal computers andnetworking advances have dramatically increased the role of the individual in thecomputer age. “Are you on-line?’ is ubiquitous. For individuals, being on-lineindicates accessibility. Those on-line can chat, exchange e-mail, and share photoswithoutthesametimeandgeographicalconstraintsofthe“realworld.”Fororgan-izations, being on-line avoids those same obstacles for the purpose of buying andselling, sharing information, and building relationships with individuals and other organizations. It is arguable that being off-line is not so much a practical choice asit is a philosophical one. The primary concern of the digital divide is the “have--nots” not the “will-nots.”Educators struggle with the influence of the computer both inside and outsidethe classroom. For some, the struggle is in providing access and resources to anincreasing number of learners [1]. Others focus on the best ways to integrate
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computer technology within the classroom, particularly when the technologyexperience of many teachers is limited [2]. The most fervent critics of computersin the classroom, or more specifically their misuse, would likely agree that thewholehearted acceptance of computers is the biggest problem [3]. Graduates will be entering a more computerized world, regardless of its role in their previouseducation.Althoughthecomputerisdeeplyembeddedinourdailyspeech,itisappropriateto pause and evaluate the concept of the “computer.” The state of computer technology and our conception of it are always changing. Most people are awarethat computer technology has been evolving quickly in areas such as processingspeed and storage capability. What is less well known is that our overall paradigmof what a computer is and how it should be used also changes. However, thischange is more episodic than incremental. Understanding this type of change willallow us to take better advantage as it occurs.This article recounts pivotal events in the development of the modern computer and its role in education. These events are described not only in terms of their technical importance, but also as influencing our conception of the “computer.”Finally, an alternative view of the future of computing is described, suggestingimplications for education.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE COMPUTERAND ITS EDUCATIONAL USE
The term “computer” originally appeared in the English language in theseventeenth century and referred to observatory workers who specialized inmaking surveys and performing mathematical calculations [4]. Mechanical com- puters did not make an impact until late in the nineteenth century. At that time, anumber of various calculating devices were envisioned and some found their wayinto industrial age society. Machines that could sort and tabulate data from punched cards were used in the United States census of 1890 [5].The Second World War provided the impetus for impressive, and sometimesominous, developments in computing technology. Working electronic computersweredesignedandbuiltatanumberofAmericanuniversitiesduringthewaryears.The tasks assigned to these computers were generally complex and/or tediousmathematical calculations, such as determining the ballistics involved in firinglarge artillery guns [6]. In Europe, the increasing efficiency of census machinerywould have a more devastating effect. As recently documented by Black, punchcard machinery designed and developed by IBM was used extensively by theThird Reich to organize the round-up, transportation, and eventual exterminationof millions [7].Although a number of various successful electronic computing projects wouldcement this period as the start of the computer age, arguably the most enduringdevelopment from this time was conceptual, that of the stored program. Originally,
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all computers and sorting machinery were manually configured. Throughmechanical controls or wiring connections, a technologist would configure, or  program, the equipment for a specific task. Once the task was completed, thecomputerwouldbere-configured.Asimilaramountofeffortwasrequiredeachtimeregardless of whether the task would only be performed once or on a regular basis.John von Neumann is generally credited with developing the concept of the stored program[8].Byencodingtheinstructionsforthecomputerasdata,anoperatoronlyneeded to load the program and then execute it. Programs could be run again andagain with very little human interaction. More importantly, the flexibility of “software” would greatly extend the computing power of any particular hardwaresystem.Theconceptofalarge,centralizedcomputerwoulddominatethefieldforthenextthirty years. “Mainframes” would be purchased or leased by almost every largeorganization. Governments, corporations, and universities were the natural cus-tomers for the computer manufacturers. For the most part, hardware and softwarecame from the same vendor. The availability of programming languages allowedthese organizations to also develop specialized applications. Although large-scaleoperations, such as developing a semester schedule for thousands of students on acampus, were the main purpose of these machines, time-sharing enabled other uses[9]. Speed in performing calculations is the forté of computers. This is particularlyuseful when processing hundreds or thousands of data records. However, a personinteractingwithaterminalorworkingwithsmallerdatasetsdoesnotneedthatmuchcomputingpower.Withtime-sharing,anumberofusersand/orprogramsworkwiththecomputerapparentlysimultaneously.Inthebackground,thecomputerisrapidlyswitching between each request, performing a large number of small operations inquick succession.It is within this context, that the first directly educational computer applicationsweredeveloped.ProgramslikePLATOandTICCITwerebuilttotakeadvantageof the mainframe’s strengths [10]. Educators would use the systems to develop largelytext-based tutorials and tests. Learners could access these lessons outside of anormal class schedule. The system could manage and track the progress of largenumbersofstudents.On-linepre-andposttestingcouldbeusedbothtoindividualizethe curriculum and check mastery. The extensive management capability and theeffort required to develop lessons of limited pedagogy combined to ensure that thiscomputer-based instruction would be primarily targeted at large entry-level courseswhere knowledge acquisition was the key learning objective.It is interesting to note that many writers enjoy quoting individuals from this era, particularly when the quote appears to indicate shortsightedness on the part of experts in determining the future impact of technology. In 1943, IBM ChairmanThomas Watson made the oft-cited comment that he could not perceive a worldmarket for more than five computers. It is important to remember that his statementwasmadewhenthecommonconceptionofthecomputerwasaroom-sizedmachineoperating in a controlled environment with a large number of required support
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