Tablets, Computers, and New Technologies in Education: Fad or New Paradigm?

In the late 19th century, education visionaries proclaimed that correspondence education would replace classrooms. In 1910, Thomas Edison declared that film would completely change schools within ten years. Over the past century we have witnessed many of such cycles in education, with desktop computers, mobile phones, tablets, one computer per student, videos and online education. First, new technologies are introduced into schools with great excitement and promise. Some years later into the cycle, critics argue that these new technologies are unlikely to improve learning outcomes, and that we should go "back to basics." The announced revolution comes to nothing: schools and parents become suspicious about educational technologies; funding is no longer available; projects are canceled; and schools eventually go back to the traditional teaching methods.

These cycles are even faster now that technology develops at an astonishingly rapid pace. As a result, the public opinion and policy makers are increasingly confused about the real role of technologies in the classroom. Should technologies replace teachers, eliminate books, reach remote regions, make education more affordable, allow for the teaching of new content, enable student-centered, constructivist pedagogies, or make learning fun and effortless? How does the recent discussion on tablets in Brazilian schools fit into this debate? Are we witnessing another cycle of exaggerated promises and disappointing results? 

These questions will be addressed in the webinar Tablets, computers, and new technologies in education: another fad or new paradigm? organized by the Working Group Current Trends in Brazilian Education. This event, held on February 15, is part of four workshops sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies and the Lemann Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Brazilian Education, both at Stanford University.

For more information visit https://lemanncenter.stanford.edu/ITseminar