Computers Should Be Used in Classrooms

Michael Schrage’s call to remove all computers from schools (“High-Tech Programs Are No Substitute for Quality Education,” May 6) is like calling for the removal of all pencils and desks. Should we remove textbooks as well?

Computers, running curriculum software, provide an instructional approach to learning. Think of them as interactive textbooks. Recognize that computers have shown the potential to play as vital a role in the classroom as they now play in day-to-day business applications.

In fact, computers bring new dynamics into the classroom, where kids get excited about learning again and instructors have yet another tool to help them teach and monitor the progress of their students.

Teachers today compete with dynamic special-effects movies, MTV and video games for students’ attention in the classroom. Multimedia systems and software programs are an effective way to help engage students in the learning process and to keep their attention.

Obviously, technology is not the sole solution to the problems that plague many of our nation’s schools; rather, educational technology complements other tactics aimed at improving the classroom experience and motivating students. And when a computer motivates a child, it has played a role in enriching the classroom environment. And that translates into improving the quality of education.

Forbidding computers in the classroom is certainly not the solution to improving our schools. Instead, recognizing that computers are a part of our society, including schools, we should focus on assisting teachers and students to use these tools to their fullest potential, rather than abandoning them or removing them from the classroom.

JOHN T. KERNAN

San Diego

The writer is chairman and CEO of Jostens Learning, a San Diego-based firm that develops software curriculum programs for schools.