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The power of student-teacher interaction?

ACM News Service: How Computers Make Our Kids Stupid.  I don’t know what to make of this, Maybe I’m just thinking too hard.  According to Sue Ferguson’s 2005–06–06 Mclean’s article,

the evidence is mounting that our obsessive use of information technology is dumbing us down, adults as well as kids. While they can be engaging and resourceful tools for learning -- if used in moderation -- computers and the Internet can also distract kids from homework, encourage superficial and uncritical thinking, replace face-to-face interaction between students and teachers, and lead to compulsive behaviour.

It’s a lengthy article, and the prognosis is not so clear as the title and early tilt might suggest.  There are studies that indicate the distractions away from reading and study are detrimental to school children, just as adults seem to pay a toll for multi-tasking and high levels of interruption from focus-requiring tasks. 

There are also the observations from teachers in individual settings that suggests the children are highly-engaged and effective when there is classroom computing.

It does look like there is something to pay attention to here, even though I am not confident that the case is made here.  There seem to be too many apple-orange-pineapple contrasts flying about.