Beyond Edutainment and Technotainment

Urban and perpetually underfunded through the final decades of the last century, the Middle School of the Future (MSF) has dramatically closed the digital divide facing many urban schools today. The principal of MSF, Sharon Jackson, has banked heavily on the possibilities of notebook computers and n...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal for quality and participation Vol. 26; no. 4; p. 26
Main Author McKenzie, Jamie
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cincinnati American Society for Quality 01.12.2003
Subjects
Digital divide
Education
Educational technology
High technology
Illiteracy
Information literacy
Learning
Literacy
Middle schools
Portable computers
Reading
Skills
Students
Teachers
Teaching
United States > US
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Summary:Urban and perpetually underfunded through the final decades of the last century, the Middle School of the Future (MSF) has dramatically closed the digital divide facing many urban schools today. The principal of MSF, Sharon Jackson, has banked heavily on the possibilities of notebook computers and networked information. She is hoping to reverse the old patterns, equipping students with all the skills and competencies they might need to break into successful futures. Every school she has touched has changed for the better. To her, the equipment was nothing much more than a set of new tools to support questioning, exploring, and creating. This article identifies the risks of edutainment and technotainment while suggesting strategies that optimize return on technology investments as measured by gains in student performance.
ISSN:1040-9602
1931-4019