Computers and Classroom Culture

As important as it is to realize the potential of computer technology to improve education, it is just as important to understand how the social organization of schools and classrooms influences the use of computers, and in turn is effected by that technology in unanticipated ways. In Computers and Classroom Culture, first published in 1996, Janet Schofield observes the fascinating dynamics of the computer-age classroom. Among her many discoveries, Schofield describes how the use of an artificially-intelligent tutor in a geometry class unexpectedly changes aspects like the level of peer competition and the teachers' grading practices. She also discusses why many teachers fail to make significant instructional use of computers and how gender appears to have a crucial impact on students' reactions to computer use. All educators, sociologists, and psychologists concerned with educational computing and the changing shape of the classroom will find themselves compellingly engaged.

"[Schofield's] fascinating conclusions...have implications for education reform that go far beyond the introduction of new technology." Faith Schantz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Computers and Classroom Culture provides an in-depth look at how computer technology can affect the educational process...Everybody will appreciate the easy reading style and absence of technical jargon, and instructional technology professionals will find that the material presented including the references is relevant to their efforts. We give this book an enthusiastic thumbs up!...will be both an interesting and useful addition to the library of all of those interested in obtaining new insight into how computers can be effectively introduced into a classroom environment..." Contemporary Psychology, "...an astonishing amount of effort compared with the standard empirical report in this area." Chuck Huff, Journal of Educational Computing, "Janet Schofield has written a beautifully detailed and carefully reasoned account of what happens when technologies are incorporated into complex school settings. Their social effects are often the critical, but hidden, characters in the story of the impact of technologies. Janet has illuminated this territory."-Jan Hawkins, "[Schofield's] fascinating conclusions on how computers affected the classroom environment have implications for education reform that go beyond the introduction of new technology...Although Computers and Classroom Culture is a scholarly work, the relative absence of specialized educational terminology makes it accessible to a broad range of readers. The excerpts from the 'field notes', allowing us glimpses into the classroom, are always riveting." Faith Schantz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette