Neil Postman | |
Neil PostmanNeil Postman, "Virtual Students, Digital Classrooms" Neil Postman (1931- ) was born in New York City and earned an Ed.D. from
Columbia University in 1958. He has taught at New York University for
more than thirty years, and is a prolific writer, often examining the
impact of technology and the media upon education and the broader culture.
Postman's books include Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse
in the Age of Show Business (1985), Technopoly: The Surrender of
Culture to Technology (1992), and Building a Bridge to the Eighteenth
Century: How the Past Can Improve Our Future (1999). His work has
also appeared in such periodicals as The New York Times Magazine, The
Atlantic, Harper's, Time Magazine, The Saturday Review, and The
Harvard Education Review. "Virtual Students, Digital Classrooms"
takes a close look at some of the possible negative effects of technology,
especially computers, upon teaching and learning. It was first published
in 1995 in Nation and reprinted in The End of Education: Redefining
the Value of School (1995). | QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION | CONTENT - What is the purpose of Postman's question about God and antibiotics?
- Who is Doctor Faustus?
- Explain the author's disapproval over using technology to solve
psychological problems.
- Besides the computer, name two technologies the author considers
mixed blessings.
- According to the author, how are the computer and the printing
press similar?
- What are some of the problems facing schools mentioned in this
essay?
- What two reasons does Postman give to argue against computer instruction
in schools? What use do they have in school, according to him?
STRATEGY AND STYLE - What is Postman's argument here? Outline his main points and types
of support for each in as much detail as you can.
- In paragraph nine, the author details the amount of mass media
available today and provides specific numbers. What is the effect of
this technique? How would the impact of the paragraph change if these
specifics weren't provided?
- Postman frequently uses the phrase "god of Technology,"
which contains unusual punctuation. How does his use and omission of
capital letters here fit in with his ideas about technology?
- Why do you think the author goes back to the early 20th
century for his last couple of examples? What point would be lost if
he chose to use more current examples?
- In paragraph four Postman provides a long quote from the work of
Diane Ravitch, an author with whom he disagrees about the role of technology
in education. What are some the advantages of providing this lengthy
quote in one place as opposed to cutting up the writing and discussing
it bit by bit?
| ENGAGING THE TEXT | - Are you a technophile who's always reading about the latest gadget,
or a technophobe who considers the toaster a challenge? Maybe you're
somewhere in between? How does your stance here interact with this reading?
- Does the Internet help you in your studies? How do you use the
Internet? What have you found it good for? Where is it lacking? How
can you relate your experience using the Internet to this essay?
| SUGGESTIONS FOR SUSTAINED WRITING | - Does Postman suggest that computers represent a revolution in technology,
or that they have evolved from other forms of technological invention?
Defend your answer with specifics from your reading.
- The author writes, "Schools are not now and have never been
largely about getting information to children." What does he think
schools are mainly for? What do you think they're mainly
for?
| FOR FURTHER RESEARCH | Do some research about the "digital divide." Using your reading
and outside sources, answer these questions: Which schoolchildren have
more access to information than others with the advent of computers and
the Internet in the classroom? What happened to the promise of equal access?
Picking one locality, where are the problems the worst? What might be
done about these problems? | WEB CONNECTION | Read this review
of Postman's book Technopoly. What specifies did you learn about
the book from the review? What kinds of things would make consulting the
book itself necessary in order to find out? Would you fell comfortable
using this review in a paper about Postman? Why or why not? | LINKS | Biographical Not sure where to start your online research about Postman? Check
out his own page
at the New York University School of Education's Department of Culture
and Communication. You'll find a photo, a biographical sketch, and some
information about his research interests and publications there. Here's another Postman biography,
this time from PBS. How does it differ from the one above? What, do
you think, accounts for the difference? If you had to pick one to use
in a paper, which one would you pick? Why?
Bibliographical This page
has links to Postman's work on the WWW, including excerpts of his books,
two speeches about technology, and a Q&A which he conducted. There
are also a couple of other related links. Read this review
of Postman's The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School.
Judging from the review, what are Postman's basic views about the main
topic of the book? How do they jibe with yours? Can you tell if your
library has a copy of this book from the computer you're using now?
Cultural Have you ever taken a distance-learning course? Take a look at
this distance learning FAQ.
If you haven't taken such a course, would you consider taking one after
your visit? If you have, how can you compare you experiences with those
presented there? Let's look at one aspect of technology as an exercise: "Appropriate
technology" usually refers to that which is sustainable into the
future and includes technology involved with energy, agriculture, and
community planning. Take a visit to the homepage
of the National Center for Appropriate Technology for an overview. What
did you discover there? Where could you go online to find differing
views? In his book Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman argues that
television is determining culture rather than reflecting it. Find some
information about the book online until you're comfortable with his
thesis. Do you agree with Postman? Why or why not? If you'd like to
pursue things further, take a look at this Google.com directory
about tv.
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