Blog #11 The Computer Delusion by Todd Oppenheimer

Delusion “ implies an inability to distinguish between what is real and what only seems to be real, often as the result of a disordered state of mind” Webster Dictionary.

Once I finished reading Todd Oppenheimer article and got ready to start my reflection my first impulse was to look for the meaning of Delusion. What a surprise. Delusion sums up in one word the article’s main ideas. At the beginning Oppenheimer expressed how Clinton Task force, some educators and school administrators believed in technology as the main objective to improve student academic performance in education and careers opportunities. However, the author also presented other opinions from the business, technology and education sector in which technology was not viewed as the real solution for academic achievement or career advancement but as a hazard for students learning process. One might conclude that Oppenheimer believed that the first group suffered from computer delusion when they couldn’t distinguish between the real implication of excessive and careless use of technology from their perception of computers as the ultimate solution to all academic issues.
At the same time, Oppenheimer may use computer delusion to describe students’ perception of their learning process when using computers to solve virtual problems. If technology is not used properly, students may develop the impression that everything they see and learn through the computers is real and applicable; it only makes it look real, but is not. The strategies students learn through the use of technology, as the sole vehicle for learning, are not all the skills and knowledge they need to learn and use in the real world.
There is a recurrent theme in the discussion of the use of technology in the classroom. Educators have the responsibility to evaluate all necessary factors before deciding whether to use or not technology in the classroom. The main consideration should be what topic and skills am I going to teach. Who are my students? What are their strengths, weaknesses and special needs? What resources do I have available to support my student’s learning? Which of those tools can I use to provide them equal access to the curriculum? What are the benefits or downfalls of the available resources? Technology is a tool that should be subjected to this analysis as all other available sources. If technology as a tool passes the scrutiny, then the educator should be prepared and knowledgeable on the technological tool chosen and how to use it properly within the instructional content area. Students should receive instruction on how to use technology properly. The use of technology does not prevent the use of other resource. On the contrary, using multiple resources engage all kinds of learners while making education accessible to all. The use of technology in the classroom has to be carefully pondered if we want to prevent computer delusion in our school system.