New Educational Technology: Challenges and Potential Many cr

New Educational Teehnology:ChalIenges and Potential
    Many current criticisms of computers and multimedia technology in instruction stem from a lack of understanding of the nature and importance of computer literacy and of how new technologies can contribute to a revitalization of education. In the past, media, primarily film and television, were often used as a supplement or as a way for the teacher to take a break from the arduous activity of interacting creatively with students. Even today, with media and technology proliferating in the schools, media literacy is rarely taught, and imaginative use of media materials in the classroom occurs all too seldom. Even in colleges of education where teachers are taught how to teach, media, computer, and technological literacies are rarely discussed, though there is some pressure developing to address this lack.
    Traditionally, print literacy has held a position of privilege in education. A form of elitism has blinded many educational theorists to the significance of media in the everyday lives of both teachers and students. Some experts, however, are perceptive in their claim that "the everyday televisual and popular cultural texts that students encounter are at least as, if not more, significant sources of learning than the print texts educators deem as culturally relevant literacy texts". These common and shared media materials could be employed to intensify and enhance the experience of education, but this has not often been done. Further, instruction has generally failed to develop the critical skills and analytic abilities that empower both teacher and student in their interactions with media in all its forms. Yet, in this computer era, critical media literacy is essential for understanding and navigating within ever more complex technological and ideological forms such as CD-ROMs and the World Wide Web. Indeed, there is a broadening mismatch between student experience, subjectivities, and culture and the institution of schooling.
    This is not to suggest that the instructional use of media and computer technology is inherently superior and without limitations. Indeed, we believe that print literacy and the fundamentals of education are more necessary than ever in today’s "high-tech" information age. In a world of information overload, it is increasingly important to teach students the skills of critical reading and analysis, and clear and concise writing. Moreover, a good classroom teacher can provide context, appropriate application of course material to students’ situations, and a place for discussion and interaction that computers cannot provide. But we also believe that it is the responsibility of educators to make use of all available technologies for educational purposes. The relationship between print media and multimedia technology, as well as between classroom teaching and computerized teaching tools, is not an either-or situation, but rather inclusive—a sort of "both-and". In this conception, multimedia and print supplement each other, as do computers and classroom teaching.
    Yet traditional educators persist in blaming media and technology for declining test scores and in defending problematic tools like Internet filtering software and the television V chip that enable censorship of material deemed objectionable by some third party. It would seem more productive to teach students how to access and appreciate worthwhile educational and cultural media and to engage in critical analysis. Often censoring material makes it more appealing and seductive, so we recommend critical engagement with media materials rather than simple prohibition.
    We also recommend that media production be incorporated in the classroom. Despite the fact that inexpensive video equipment is widely available in both schools and universities, teachers rarely teach students how to use the equipment to produce their own contemporary media forms. We have found that the production of alternative forms or parodies of commercial media—anti-commercials or anti-rock videos, for instance—can break through barriers and extend the critical educational process in many exciting directions. Unfortunately, it seems far more common for teachers to use film, video, or other media forms as a less valuable supplement to a printed text.
    Hence arises the illogical but common practice of blaming the victim—or, in this case, the student—and the technology itself. The computer has become an object of disdain and disrespect within some education settings and contexts. Like the television programming and Hollywood films that have been blamed by so many educators for the failings of contemporary students, computer software and Internet technologies are also being demonized. Some object to computer games; others complain that students spend too much time surfing the Web, or use the Internet to cheat on assignments. Many educators simply denounce new computer technologies rather than embarking on serious exploration of how such tools can be used to enhance education and further research. Others make the admittedly compelling argument that the new technologies are far more accessible to the middle and upper classes and thus reinforce class hierarchies. But these educators focus on criticizing and pay scant attention to devising strategies to ensure that disadvantaged and subordinate groups have access to computer education and technologies.
    What is needed is a philosophical and pedagogical shift toward positive deployment of new technologies for educational purposes. This reconstructive process should seek to empower and enlighten both teachers and students and to assist them in recognizing the difference between good and bad, mediocre and beneficial. Teachers and students should learn to evaluate new cultural forms in the same manner in which they have long judged and evaluated print material. This approach, however, necessitates a commitment to teaching media, computer, and multimedia literacies, and to incorporating the best of these programs in the classroom.