Revisar OPCIONES

During the 1980s much writing on computers in education focused on informing (e.g., how to set up a computer lab) and assessment (does CAI work?). The 1990s are a period of reassessment: Have computers altered the culture of the classroom? How have curriculum and methodology changed? Quantitative methods yielded the evidence for judgments made in the 1980s, but qualitative methods are better suited for today's investigations. Schofield's in-depth study of an urban high school uses these methods well. She deals with organizational and social barriers to computer use, but also offers a close-up of artificial intelligence as classroom tutor, and of students learning computing in different environments. The style is highly readable and the reporting of research enlivened by the use of quotes. Schofield concludes that computers can improve current educational practice, but do not fulfill their promise "because of poor software, teacher resistance and lack of transformatory goal setting." The clearest message is that the most profound changes are due not only to planned interventions using computers but also to the unique consequences of the presence of these interactive tools in classrooms. Potential or paradox? Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. G. H. Alexander Miami-Dade Community College