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An introduction to educational computing
Compur 1 Educ. Vol. 3. p 246 Pergamon Press Ltd 1979 Prmed
I” Great Brrlam.
BOOK
REVIEW
An Introduction to Educational Computing; N. RUSHBY,Croom Helm Ltd. 1979. f8.95. Nicholas Rushby, author of An Introduction to Educational Computing’ has produced an extremely useful reference work for the uninitiated teacher or educational administrator wishing to explore the educational potential of the computer. In addition to a painstaking enumeration of the sorts of activities which have been undertaken with computers in education, there is a glossary of frequently used terms drawn both from computing and educational jargon, and a bibliography which (most helpfully) includes a brief comment on or description of each item mentioned. After an introductory chapter which defines various terms, distinguishing in particular (and perhaps heavy-handedly) between computer-assisted learning (CAL) and computer-managed learning &ML), the second chapter deals at some length with the first of these. The Kemmis model, which divides educational material according to instructional, revelatory, conjectural and emancipatory paradigms, is used as a framework to classify various types of CAL package. This section was carefully put together and gives a vivid glimpse of nearly everything that has been done in recent years. Even though the analysis necessarily centres on the first two paradigms, I am convinced that the model is a useful device for anyone wishing to assess CAL material without the benefit of a great deal of experience. The next chapter is concerned with a comparison of different teaching media-including, rather frivolously, teachers themselves who, we are told, ‘are easy to produce but difficult to train’. Chapter 4 deals with CML and covers, in the same painstaking and careful manner, which seems to be Mr Rushby’s literary forte, test setting, marking and analysis; student record management and evaluation; and timetabling. This section is well done and, together with Chapter 2, provides an excellent survey of the field describing, in spite of the irritatingly trivial block diagrams and ‘flow charts’, the major elements of educational computer systems. The remainder of the book attempts to spell out the implications of computers in general (Informatics) and of instituting CAL packages (Technological Aspects, Managing CAL innovation). Here Mr Rushby’s tendency to oversimplify, and to some extent to present what has already been done as the entire range of possibilities, begins to detract from his discourse. Matters which might be expected to be of interest to an enquiring teacher (computer awareness, actual computer programming, package transferability) are treated with such superficiality as to beguile the reader into an underestimation of the magnitude or intricacy of these topics. In particular, while I acknowledge the existence and historical place of substantial batch processing CAL facilities, I do not think that batch processing is a viable medium for anyone thinking of setting up CAL material nowadays. The educational superiority of the interactive mode, combined with the cheapness of current microprocessor systems compared with the development costs of any substantial piece of CAL software, should exclude any other low-cost alternative. Lastly, with 95 pages of text and 18 pages devoted to the glossary, bibliography, etc., f8.95 seems a very steep price for what is essentially an introductory monograph. Overall though, Mr Rushby has- prod&d a valuable introduction to the subject which, provided one does not take too seriously the broader generalisations, is well worth drawing from the library. Queen Mary College
C. SADLER
Mile End Road London, El 4NS U.K.
246
I” Great Brrlam.
BOOK
REVIEW
An Introduction to Educational Computing; N. RUSHBY,Croom Helm Ltd. 1979. f8.95. Nicholas Rushby, author of An Introduction to Educational Computing’ has produced an extremely useful reference work for the uninitiated teacher or educational administrator wishing to explore the educational potential of the computer. In addition to a painstaking enumeration of the sorts of activities which have been undertaken with computers in education, there is a glossary of frequently used terms drawn both from computing and educational jargon, and a bibliography which (most helpfully) includes a brief comment on or description of each item mentioned. After an introductory chapter which defines various terms, distinguishing in particular (and perhaps heavy-handedly) between computer-assisted learning (CAL) and computer-managed learning &ML), the second chapter deals at some length with the first of these. The Kemmis model, which divides educational material according to instructional, revelatory, conjectural and emancipatory paradigms, is used as a framework to classify various types of CAL package. This section was carefully put together and gives a vivid glimpse of nearly everything that has been done in recent years. Even though the analysis necessarily centres on the first two paradigms, I am convinced that the model is a useful device for anyone wishing to assess CAL material without the benefit of a great deal of experience. The next chapter is concerned with a comparison of different teaching media-including, rather frivolously, teachers themselves who, we are told, ‘are easy to produce but difficult to train’. Chapter 4 deals with CML and covers, in the same painstaking and careful manner, which seems to be Mr Rushby’s literary forte, test setting, marking and analysis; student record management and evaluation; and timetabling. This section is well done and, together with Chapter 2, provides an excellent survey of the field describing, in spite of the irritatingly trivial block diagrams and ‘flow charts’, the major elements of educational computer systems. The remainder of the book attempts to spell out the implications of computers in general (Informatics) and of instituting CAL packages (Technological Aspects, Managing CAL innovation). Here Mr Rushby’s tendency to oversimplify, and to some extent to present what has already been done as the entire range of possibilities, begins to detract from his discourse. Matters which might be expected to be of interest to an enquiring teacher (computer awareness, actual computer programming, package transferability) are treated with such superficiality as to beguile the reader into an underestimation of the magnitude or intricacy of these topics. In particular, while I acknowledge the existence and historical place of substantial batch processing CAL facilities, I do not think that batch processing is a viable medium for anyone thinking of setting up CAL material nowadays. The educational superiority of the interactive mode, combined with the cheapness of current microprocessor systems compared with the development costs of any substantial piece of CAL software, should exclude any other low-cost alternative. Lastly, with 95 pages of text and 18 pages devoted to the glossary, bibliography, etc., f8.95 seems a very steep price for what is essentially an introductory monograph. Overall though, Mr Rushby has- prod&d a valuable introduction to the subject which, provided one does not take too seriously the broader generalisations, is well worth drawing from the library. Queen Mary College
C. SADLER
Mile End Road London, El 4NS U.K.
246