[.ca] High-Tech Heretic: Reflections of a Computer Contrarian (ISBN 0385489765)

From Amazon.co.uk:
Clifford Stoll, the Frank Zappa of cyberculture, dances around and about information architecture in High-Tech Heretic: Reflections of a Computer Contrarian. His friendly, just-folks style is accessible and entertaining, even for the painfully postmodern readers who most desperately need Stoll's quiet scepticism. The 23 short essays are split between education and more general computer-related topics, but each reflects a unique and consistent viewpoint that is marginalised at best: computers might be neat, but they aren't revolutionary. He walks a very narrow path, eschewing both the utopians' rosy mirrorshades and the Luddites' monkeywrenches in favour of the least sexy accessory of all--critical thought. Why are we supposed to wire every classroom? Whose best interests are served by programs offering "computer literacy"? Can we really meet people online? Stoll asks the reader to check assumptions and suspend judgements while we determine what is really best for our children and our culture. His ideas aren't the stuff sound bites are made of, though his writing has enough pith and charm to keep even the most rabid techno-partisan engaged. It must be a blast to infuriate the smug and unthinking punditocracy for a living; High-Tech Heretic lets us in on the fun, while stretching our eye-rolling muscles and exercising our old-fashioned seawater brains. --Rob Lightner

So-So:
I was grateful to see some hesitation toward using a computer in the classroom. In my math class I include technology but run into some of the problems the author discusses. One such problem is technical difficulties which can eat up class time. Another problem, I have tried many software packages only to discover that graphics are emphasized instead of content. I agree that if we let it the internet can eat up our lives. Maybe the author is a little drastic and I do not agree to the same degree but he makes some good points. We should be aware of the pitfalls of computers. They are great tools but are not the end all, be all. We need to spend time with other human beings and not look to the internet for relationships. Some parts of the book seem to ramble and was distracting. Some points were repeated and that was distracting. Keeping this in mind, I would recommend reading High-Tech Heretic.

High Tech Heretic:
Don't let the easy read of Clifford Stoll's book, High Tech Heretic, lull you into believing that the driving force of technology is the root of all our educational and societal ills. In his book, Stoll points a pessimistic finger at the negative use of computers by looking at several issues. For example, what do bowling leagues, Sunday church services, and the boring gray color of computer systems have in common? All were weak issues used by Stoll in convincing us of the technology monster. Now, if you have a hard time visualizing a relationship, don't worry. I had a hard time understanding the relationship and I read the book. Now, it is not fair to say that his book didn't raise a few doubts in my mind. A few doubts arose when discussing how much money should be spent or teaching positions lost in order to financially accommodate computers when in five years the computer's technology will be obsolete? What factors should play a key role in deciding computer learning versus personal experience or application? Lastly, here's one tip for the reader. While reading keep an open mind and realize what this book really is- one man's pessimistic view of technology.

High Tech Heretic... Not Recommended:
I was very disappointed in the relentless criticisms that Clifford Stoll used in this book to portray technology, namely computers. He contributes virtually every problem in society today to technology. Depression, social anxiety, ADHD in children, family problems, declining test scores, loss of teaching and librarian positions, even declining church attendance... all due to computer use as Stoll so bluntly insinuates. He states that the World Wide Web does not offer social skills, strength of character, trust and determination. However, it provides situations that are a test of them just like real life. There undoubtedly are programs that emphasize/teach these areas that one can purchase also. Ethical issues are present in everything we do- even on the computer. Yet another "stretch of the imagination" that Stoll makes in this book is that kindergarten classrooms are increasingly looking and sounding like video arcades. While this may be occurring in very few schools, I honestly do not feel it is the norm and is quite insulting to most kindergarten teachers who know best how to present their curriculum and whether to distinguish if technology is the best tool for teaching a particular skill. I do agree with Stoll's concerns regarding overuse of computers by many children and even adults. However, he takes it much too far with his personal opinions. The fault should not lie with technology. If a child is spending a majority of his or her time surfing the Internet the fault should lie with the parent or guardian. We can't blame technology for lack of supervision and balance by parents. Finally, I intensely disagree with Stoll in that it is possible to do perfectly well without computers or high tech devices in today's society. Technology allows us to be more efficient and effective in what we do whether it is providing services to a customer in a business or tracking student health records, test scores, etc. As a business owner and an educator, computers are of significant value and a wonderful tool to me!!

High Tech Heretic Review:
In this book, Stoll presents his views on the negative impact of the emphasis on computers and technology in education. He cites examples like a lack of money for classroom supplies even though a great deal of money is spent on the purchase and maintenance of computers. Also, that instructional time is often spent setting up and learning software. His view is that in many ways technology hinders student learning yet we see an increase in that area and a decrease in the area of social activities and books. This view gives the reader a different angle to consider in a time when technology and training is so strongly stressed in education. I agree that students need strong academic content and trained caring teachers but they also need technology skills in order to be successful.

A caustic condemnation of computers in the classroom:
Rarely has a sacred cow been bludgeoned as gleefully as Clifford Stoll hammers educational computing in his smart and funny 1999 book High Tech Heretic. With equal parts unbridled passion and wry wit, Stoll challenges the conventional wisdom that the creation of high tech classrooms "wired for the 21st century" is an inherently good idea. Perhaps surprisingly, Stoll is not some anti-technology hippie who spends his time hugging trees, reading Thoreau, and sending menacing letters to corporations from his crude Montana cabin. On the contrary, Stoll's arguments are given increased credibility when we discover that he is a self-confessed computer nerd who has worked for decades in the computer industry. Many of Stoll's arguments will find a welcoming audience even among pro-computer educators. For example, the most powerful chapter in the book is an indictment of the school-as-entertainment model entitled "Makes Learning Fun." "Most learning isn't fun" Stoll argues. "Learning takes work. Discipline. Commitment, from both teacher and student . . . Turning learning into fun denigrates the most important things we can do in life: to learn and to teach." Yeah, Clifford! You go, boy! Stoll waxes equally eloquently on the annihilation of basic math skills encouraged by the use of calculators, the myth advocated by fans of the Internet that "information is power," and the diversion of library dollars from books to glitzy high tech gadgets that are often obsolete before they are torn out of the box. Stoll's stridency (and he is strident) is leavened by his sense of humor. Not only does he describe how he converted his old Macintosh computer into an aquarium, he even throws in his recipe for banana bread for good measure. Undoubtedly, Stoll's arguments are a bit overdone. He has not only pointed out that the emperor has no clothes. He has taunted him, smacked his bottom, photographed him, and downloaded his naked pictures to the Internet. The truth is that, used judiciously, computers do have a place in the classroom. The fact that an election map for every presidential election in U.S. history is only a keystroke away can't be a bad thing. Despite Stoll's argument to the contrary, a sense of balance is exactly what is needed. But then, if Stoll was not so zealous, High Tech Heretic wouldn't be nearly so much fun.