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1 - A Minimal Methodology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2009

Estrid Sørensen
Affiliation:
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
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Summary

Yet school officials here and in several other places said laptops had been abused by students, did not fit into lesson plans, and showed little, if any, measurable effect on grades and test scores at a time of increased pressure to meet state standards. Districts have dropped laptop programs after resistance from teachers, logistical and technical problems, and escalating maintenance costs.

Such disappointments are the latest example of how technology is often embraced by philanthropists and political leaders as a quick fix, only to leave teachers flummoxed about how best to integrate the new gadgets into curriculums. Last month, the United States Department of Education released a study showing no difference in academic achievement between students who used educational software programs for math and reading and those who did not.

Hu Winnie, New York Times, 4 May 2007

In 2006 public schools in the United States had on average one computer per 4.2 pupils, which is equivalent to a total of more than 53 million computers (U.S. Census Bureau 2007, table 248). In 2006 Danish schools provided a new computer for every 4.9 pupils (UNI-C 2007). Converted to monetary value, this amounts to an investment, in the United States, of more than $30 billion, which is almost $240 per American household. In addition to this amount is the cost of software, maintenance, training, Internet access, and so on. What has all this money been invested into?

Type
Chapter
Information
The Materiality of Learning
Technology and Knowledge in Educational Practice
, pp. 1 - 29
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

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  • A Minimal Methodology
  • Estrid Sørensen, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
  • Book: The Materiality of Learning
  • Online publication: 15 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511576362.003
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  • A Minimal Methodology
  • Estrid Sørensen, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
  • Book: The Materiality of Learning
  • Online publication: 15 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511576362.003
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • A Minimal Methodology
  • Estrid Sørensen, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
  • Book: The Materiality of Learning
  • Online publication: 15 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511576362.003
Available formats
×