Part III

In Part III, “Smart Paths,” Oppenheimer sets out to provide examples of successful schools that have not been caught up in the technology fad.

Urban Academy, a school in the Upper East Side of New York City, students are above average and are more likely to attend a four-year college. Oppenheimer describes the school as a family atmosphere, where teachers and students have a much closer relationship than at traditional schools. Also, despite its small size (11 teachers, 120 students), Urban Academy offers a wide range of courses, which are taught in a ‘habits of mind’ style, where students are often researching a real world problem. A key point of the chapter is that technology is not a focus or considered important, the focus is on teaching basic skills, which allows students to learn skills in word processing and spreadsheets which will prepare them for higher education.

The emphasis of Chapter Twelve is the principle of Keeping It Simple Student (KISS). Through a series of examples Oppenheimer shows that technology is not needed to engage students and make learning fun, rather simple physical devices and teaching strategies can keep students interested. The argument is best summed up by an Oppenheimer quote regarding the philosophy of three very different educators, “the priority is each student’s need for physical, sensual, and often idiosyncratic engagement with academic concepts,” (350). Oppenheimer describes what he witnessed in successful progressive schools in New York and what researchers have learned about Japan; engaging, creative styles of pedagogy, with little emphasis (or use) of computers, calculators, or other technologies and classes with active exploration, argument, analysis. I did find this interesting, as at my school we are trying to focus on keeping the students physically active during the day. I have seen improvements in attention, and effort, however I think Oppenheimer underestimates the potential positive impact of computers and technology in the classroom.

In Chapter Thirteen, Oppenheimer describes the Waldorf School approach, which emphasis multi-sensory approaches, inciting student imagination, and providing a sense of ethics. Oppenheimer first travels to a Waldorf School in California, full of juvenile delinquents, where he witnesses ‘troubled kids’ having unexpected success. In an even more telling example, Oppenheimer describes two schools that shared a building in a poor, minority area of Milwaukee. One school focused on technology, while the other used a Waldorf approach. Students at the technology school produced reports of little substance, had lower test scores (among the lowest in the city), and showed little pride in their work, while the Waldorf students excelled academically and showed off their knitting projects and other reports. Waldorf schools do have their critics. Due to a lack of emphasis on reading, some students cannot read until the third grade, and some worry that the non-competitive approach ill prepares students for the real world.

Reading The Flickering Mind has made me think about how computers can be useful in schools, but also that too much technology may distract students from working through problems, placing them at a disadvantage of how to handle difficult real-world challenges. I feel that not allowing students access to technology, something which is second nature to most of them,is cruel and in my mind will make them less prepared for the 'real world'. As a teacher it is my job to ensure the technology integration is connected to the content and enriching to the lesson. I will certainly not sit my students in front of the computer and let them surf the Internet. I felt Oppenheimer was negative and lacked a good amount of credible data to support his argument against technology in the classroom.

The Flickering Mind II

Too much technology at too young an age can stifle children’s imaginations. “Bulldozing the Imagination,” begins Part II of Oppenheimer’s book, The Flickering Mind. The need for technology has created a situation where schools, faced with serious budget constraints, decide to - trade off classes in the Arts, Shop, etc., school supplies and teachers, and other pressing needs – for new technology in the form of computers, printers, etc. Oppenheimer provides an example of a school district in Pittsburgh that shut down schools, cut back spending school supplies, and raised taxes so the district could acquire new Dell computers, scanners, and digital cameras. Oppenheimer discusses important elements that contribute to student creativity and imagination; these are physical activity, art and music classes, and social interaction. Therefore, school districts should be wary to cut these programs and emphasize technology.

In Chapter Eight, Oppenheimer focuses on the intersection of the private sector, politics, and schools. The deregulation that occurred in the 1980s and 1990s provided an opportunity for the Telecom industry to make huge profits at the expense of schools and taxpayers by providing new technologies. With little oversight, Wisconsin’s TEACH program and the federal government’s e-rate program, school districts were overcharged by millions of dollars. Examples in San Francisco and Atlanta highlight the audacity of the companies involved; the SF school district could have funded the entire project for less than 20% of the e-rate bid. Other private sector initiatives (like the Edison project) skewed data to make it seem that the program was improving test scores.

The focus of Chapter Nine is on scientific research. Successful academic programs must be backed up by scientific evidence as to their effectiveness; Bush’s No Child Left Behind is a perfect example. But Oppenheimer wonders if we can trust the science and tells the story of Renaissance Learning, a educational software company that basically lied with numbers to highlight their program’s success. In Chapter Ten, Oppenheimer discusses the difficulties involved with teacher training. He uses the Harlem example again and describes a middle-age teacher becoming increasingly frustrated with his classroom’s technology. Oppenheimer notes that training teachers is expensive and it is often lost that teachers have a great number of demands and very little time to be adequately trained. If teachers do not understand the technology, then how can they use it to properly teach, and why do we keep throwing money at technology?

Oppenheimer brings up some excellent points in Part II. First, so much emphasis is placed on technology, other important elements of student learning are suffering including arts and music programs, physical education, and social interaction. Next, too much emphasis is placed on having the newest technology (fads) that is backed up by ‘scientific’ research; the problem is how do we know the research is sound and why are we so caught up the latest trends? We’ve lost focus on what is important. What I have learned form this is as an instructional designer and first grade teacher it is important for me to maintain a balance for my students.

The Flickering Mind: Part I

In his book, The Flickering Mind, Todd Oppenheimer intends to sort out the debate regarding the integration of technology into the classroom. Does technology (the computer) represent an opportunity for education reform? Or rather, is technology a threat that is not only ineffective but also dangerous?


Oppenheimer describes the history of efforts to integrate technology into education, which he details as a series of false hopes and failures. Examples are provided of new technologies that would revolutionize education, beginning with the motion picture (1920s), strongly supported by Thomas Edison, the radio (1940s) (Cleveland), Skinner’s teaching machines (1950s and 1960s), and later the television and computers of the last several decades. Leading us to believe that this newest obsession may be just a passing fad as all the others. Oppenheimer also describes a series of federal government program failures regarding technology and education (examples include administrations of JFK, LBJ, Bush, and Clinton).

Oppenheimer next discusses how the federal government spent millions of dollars in futile attempts to try and close the gap between rich and poor schools in regards to technology. He tells the story of schools in Harlem where millions were spent on computers and the Internet, but no teacher training or technical support was provided. When reading this I felt this is one of the biggest problems in education, when you are given the tools there is not sufficient support/training. I just attended a professional development yesterday, the day before school, focused on collaboration and working across the grades. We sat for seven hours listening to all of these ideas and then told, go implement it this year. In my opinion, they have great ideas but do not give us the time to debrief after the sessions.

Oppenheimer then watched as computers distracted students and teachers from ‘teachable moments’. What did programs like I.S. 275 and Project SMART accomplish? Millions of dollars so kids could play computer games, draw pictures (not by hand), do ambitious projects that ultimately failed, and work on ILS packages and the LOGO program that dumb down education and are inflexible.

The author also describes the integration of laptops into a school in rural West Virginia. The school received positive attention and newspaper articles documenting their state-of-the-art wireless facilities. Oppenheimer takes a closer look and sees that (just like in Harlem), the computers have simplified learning at the loss of critical thinking for students. He describes how technology is not a supplement to education, but rather a replacement.

In Chapter Five, Oppenheimer focuses on New Tech High in Napa, California, a school that would be a model-training center for workplace demands. He found the same old problems of off-task students, but also explores problems with project-based learning and group-focused curriculum. Oppenheimer complains that the focus is on what you show rather than what you learn, and students must go off-campus to take classes in Art and languages.

Oppenheimer concludes the first part of the book by discussing how society has become too consumed with technology fads in education and that we must remember basic principles that guide how students learn. As an instructional designer reading this book, it is evident that I must also stay focused on student learning. Also, I must be careful in getting caught up with the latest fads, I must make sure that the learning objectives are truly being met.