Computers increase Academic Achievement
This premise cannot be answered with a definite yes or no response. Instead, it would be more of a ‘depends’. The presence of computers in a classroom or on a campus does not automatically increase academic achievement. It primarily depends upon how the computers are being utilized.
Coming from the computer industry, both retail and technical, I have seen the computer being used as a tool, a guide, a toy, and as a babysitter. Giving a student a lesson to be completed on the computer, simply because he has to do something on the computer, this is probably NOT going to help the student improve. If, however, the student is given an assignment where he/she needs to utilize the computer in order to accomplish a given task, such as a research assignment, then this process seems to improve the academic processes. While the argument is still out on whether the educational games seem to hinder or improve a child's learning, I believe that, for the most part, they do help. As an example, my own daughter:
She started being exposed to computers at the age of four, sitting on my lap while we 'played'. . When she was able to start manipulating the keyboard and mouse, I started her on some of the basic educational type games such as Reader Rabbit from the Learning Company, and storybook programs like Tortois and Hare from Edmark and Broderbund Companies. These 'games' began the groundwork for her entry into kindergarten and first grade. They not only encouraged her to read and eventually start math, but they also seemed to make learning 'fun'. I also believe that they enhanced her hand-to-eye coordination, improved her self confidence, and showed her that making mistakes was all part of the learning process. Today, she is finishing up 6th grade. Recently she had to research Ireland and create a pamphlet for that country. Using her computer, she logged onto the internet and did a search on Ireland. Once she decided on a site, she found the information she wanted, created a word document to hold the information she wanted on the pages, copied off various pictures, and printed them off. After I set the paper size and format for per printer, she then created a tri-fold pamphlet containing her pictures and information. She is always going to various sites and obtaining information on countries, animals and other areas of interest which she prints off and files away in her 'learning folder'. This is all done on her own, and her idea. Without the computer, I find it hard to believe that many children would be that inclined to do any learning on their own.
