Books vs Screens for Learning

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gleem
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Over the last decade or so, computers have become the medium of choice in education. Those of us who were brought up with books often found using a computer to read a bit uncomfortable. I believe, even as we acclimate to this new medium, we still find satisfaction in reading a book. Outside of the comfort of a book, is there any advantage to using one? Neuroscience says yes. Comprehension is better when learning from a book.

Jared Cooney Horvath, a high school math teacher turned neuroscientist, explains in a video why using computers to learn in schools is not helpful. Like many tech aids to education, such as movies and video discs, which promised to make learning easier and replace teachers, the internet and computers have not lived up to manufacturers' hype.

Hovath is the author of many videos and two books to help teachers understand the science of learning to improve their teaching. To be sure, if you know how to learn, computers are a great tool for learning.

If you have the time and are interested, you should listen to an interview with Horvath discussing his view on the use of computers in education. It is about his views in his book "The Digital Dilusion." His premise is that computers do not help you learn how to learn.

Remembering that school STEM programs have not lived up to their expectations in producing the number of college grads in STEM fields, one wonders what the problem was. My original speculation was that they made the STEM fields look like a lot of fun without the work needed to be successful. On entering university, they lacked the grit to deal with the work. But now I am thinking that these school programs probably heavily depend on the use of computers. Thus, when the learning requirements were more of the responsibility of the student, they did't know how to handle it.
 
Science news on Phys.org
James A. Garfield said:
The ideal college is Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a student on the other.
In other words, one-on-one dialog between student and teacher.
Wiki said:
Mark Hopkins (February 4, 1802 – June 17, 1887) was an American educator and Congregationalist theologian, president of Williams College from 1836 to 1872.

The student beer bar in Williamstown is called "The Log"

Regarding books vs. screens, my feeling is "books" are better. But that might be because that's how I learned. I think they said similar about whiteboards: "Chalk on a slate is proven superior."
 

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