High Tech Heretic: Why Computers Don't Belong in the Classroom and Other Reflections by a Computer Contrarian - Hardcover

Argues that students are missing out on learning fundamental skills because of the emphasis on becoming computer literate.

etonation of the hype surrounding computers in our lives, by the bestselling author of The Cuckoo's Egg and Silicon Snake Oil.

In a book that should spark debate across the country, Clifford Stoll, one of the pioneers of the Internet and a renowned gadfly of the computer industry, takes an insightful, provocative--and entertaining--look at how computers have encroached on our lives. High Tech Heretic punctures the exaggerated benefits of everything from foisting computers on preschoolers to "free" software to computer "help desks" that help no one at all. Why, Stoll asks, is there a relentless drumbeat for "computer literacy" by educators and the high-tech industry when the computer's most common uses are for word processing and games? Is diverting scarce education resources from teachers and equipment in favor of computers in the classroom the best use of school money? Are supermarket checkout clerks computer literate b