In a recent report the Information Highway Advisory Council Council (IHAC) portrays Canadian education as inefficient and ineffective and urges Canadians to invest heavily in information technology. The report states that the deployment of information and networking technologies in the classroom would improve learning, lower the dropout rate, increase the general level of literacy, all at a lower cost to the taxpayer.

As Marita Moll points out, "the evidence used to support these bold assertions is both limited and misleading." The dropout rate is substantially overestimated, there is no rising trend in illiteracy and there is no evidence that the "new" information technology would be a cure for any of the problems that exist in our system of education. What is evident, however, is that our schools "represent huge potential markets for the industries represented on the Council" Is it a coincidence that, not only in Quebec but in other provinces as well, governments are willing to commit large sums of money to upgrade the technological infrastructure in our schools, while at the same time legislating enormous financial cutbacks?

What exists out there on the Information Highway?. The industry is supplying consumers with ever more powerful computers, trying to make the old ones obsolete as quickly as possible to maintain the market for its products. CD ROM players: from 2-speed, to 4-speed, to 6-speed, and now to 8-speed; Modems, Fax Modems: from 2400 bps, to 9600 bps, to 14,400 bps, and now to 28,800 bps; Computers with 4 MB RAM, to 8MB, to 16MB, to 32MB, and now expandable to 768 MB; Hard Drives: to 500 MB, to1GB, and now to 2GB, and the techno junkies buy and buy!

But what does all this hardware technology buy that provides better education for the students in our school? What software is really useful?

As soon as one begins to critically look at what is available it becomes rapidly clear that the best products are those that assist students in their studies, such as word process, spreadsheet and database programs. Many companies produces encyclopaedias and other data based information on CD ROM. These are faster than those in book format, but serve the exact same purpose. Good programs geared to specific subjects are far and between. Most of the run-of-the-mill ones offer drill, some in the form of cute games, but that's all. On the Internet it is much the same. Instead of getting "The Gazette" delivered in the General Office in the morning, the students can down load information via the Internet and do exactly the same with it as they did before. For the lazy ones, the new technology offers the advantage that they don't even have to cut, glue and paste anymore. They can just incorporate the information into their "projects" on disk and print it as is, hoping to fool the teacher.

Let's look at a good program: "Fortress of Louisbourg" a "new interactive multimedia" CD. It is two hours long, contains 500 photographs, 45 minutes of video, 300 pages of printable text, narration and music. No doubt, as the publishers claim, it contains a huge amount of detail and users can go to whatever information about the Fortress that interests them, using a smooth interface.

The big questions is: What's new? Quantity? Most likely. Speed? Probably, because in book format this would be a big thing to handle. Quality? It depends. One still has to print the text, which can become expensive. Printed photographs are better than those on most screens, and certainly better than those produced on printers. Price? A definite plus at $49.95 Do not forget, however, that one needs a $3000 plus machine to run that CD!

All in all, this CD ROM is probably a better deal than Louisbourg in book format. But is it anything new? That is, will it improve students' learning in any new, dramatic way? It still depends on how teacher and student use the information available. There is nothing wrong with reading a book or with getting information from a book instead of dragging it out of some CD ROM. One advantage is that students and teachers have a choice in deciding what books to use. On the other hand, who controls the Information Highway? Who decides what will be distributed on it?

Another promotion that came across my desk was from Lego dacta, the educational division of the LEGO Group. They manufacture computer controlled motors, sensors, etc. which make Lego constructions behave like robots. But the prices! Besides the computer, the school would need a Control System (for Grades 5-8: $723.60, which is the Starter Pack and Site License). If they want a Control Lab for Grades 7-12: $953.30, which is the Starter Pack and Site License). Smaller sub-control centres cost from $120.00 to $279.00 Additional building sets run from $95.00 to $339.00. Software is another cost at $143.30. That is big bucks for small blocks!

Don't get me wrong, I am not an anti-technology teacher. I possess a Power PC with CD ROM, fax modem, and I'm even on the Internet, but as a teacher I have yet to experience the Information Highway revolution fever, and I certainly don't want to be told by some Information Highway Advisory self-promotion Council that I am a lousy teacher because I don't believe what they are claiming and I am not bowled over by the industry's products. When it comes to cost; investing big money in technology while at the same time instituting huge cutbacks in education doesn't make any sense. Furthermore, to be really effective, computers in the school should be supported by computers at home. How many parents can afford the cost?

With cost cutting to be the guiding light these days, educators have to be extremely vigilant when choosing the most appropriate technological process and tools. Caveat emptor!

Originally published in the PAPT - Sentinel, Spring 1996, vol.12, nr.2