Computers in Education: A Brief History.
1997; 1105 Media; Volume: 24; Issue: 11 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0192-592X
Autores Tópico(s)History of Computing Technologies
ResumoThe history of computers education has been variously characterized as an accidental or unthinking man and his thinking machines. Others have said that the computer revolution has changed the adage that necessity is the mother of in a computer world, invention is the mother of necessity. However characterized, it is clear that innovators this field have created some of the most provocative and stimulating ideas the history of education. What follows is a brief chronological history of some of the more interesting ideas and developments. A CONFLUENCE OF CHANGES Broadly speaking, the two major functions of education are transmit the culture, values and lessons of the past the current generation; and prepare our children for the world which they will live. Preparing children for the world which they will live is becoming more difficult than ever. In retrospect, there has been a confluence of changes that have significantly impacted the direction of modern education. 1. The Global Economy Modern, high-speed computers and telecommunications have facilitated the rapid movement of financial resources, goods and services, and have created an interdependence among the world's economies. To benefit from these markets, nations must be competitive, and be competitive they must have a well-educated work force. New, science-based, information industries are emerging which knowledge and human capital are as important as industrial plants. Daniel Bell says a major characteristic of these industries is that they derive from work theoretical science and are dependent on the codification of theoretical knowledge. The significance of this development is that if we choose maintain our current standard of living, our knowledge workers must compete an international market and must have a good understanding of science.[1] 2. The Scientific Information Explosion We are experiencing a scientific information explosion of unprecedented proportions. Today, scientists and engineers use computers access thousands of rapidly growing data bases that store numbers, words, maps, chemical and physical structures; and they search them millions of times a year. The base of scientific knowledge today is huge. It is estimated that it would take 22 centuries read the annual biomedical research literature or seven centuries read a year's chemical literature.[2] Not only is the volume of new information large, but it is growing exponentially. Rapid changes many fields are making basic knowledge and skills obsolete. Knowledge is continually being modified and basic concepts and theories are being revised. New theories emerge as new discoveries offer new ways of looking at the data. Disciplines are merging and hyphenated sub-disciplines are being formed. Herbert Simon, Nobel Laureate, observed that the developments science and information processing technologies have changed the meaning of the verb, to know. It used mean information stored one's memory. It now means the process of having access information and knowing how use it.[3] 3. The Emergence of Cognitive Science There has been a major paradigm shift education from theories of theories of cognition. Cognitive science approaches teaching and learning a different way. It addresses how the human, as an information processor, functions and uses information. Rather than focusing on teaching facts through expository lectures or demonstrations, the emphasis is, instead, on developing higher-order, thinking and problem-solving skills. The cognitive approach is important because it recognizes human information processing strengths and weaknesses, and the limits of human perception and memory coping with the information explosion. It focuses, instead, organizing information fit human capacity, and has changed the emphasis education from learning thinking. …
Referência(s)