- Email: [email protected]
Home informatics and telematics
Book reviews / Computers & Education 37 (2001) 179–194
187
Inevitably, certain things are a little disappointing. In every chapter, a great deal of manual calculation is still expected of the student, and much ‘computer-based’ calculation is gone through before one reaches the part of the chapter which tells the reader how it is done in Excel. As a result, much flicking forwards and backwards in the text is required. In the chapters on probability and hypothesis testing the use of Excel feels a little strained; perhaps this reflects the fact that there is some elemental theory basis that cannot be learned except in a relatively conventional way. The text is also extremely long, which may deter some instructors who struggle with time limitations. The teacher would also have to be careful to limit the quantity of exercises students are expected to perform, not least because some involve huge amounts of time — and appear to be poorly judged in that respect. This is a book (or rather a set of resources) I can strongly recommend. Even the teacher who has devoted much time to developing resources in-house should look at this carefully.
PII: S0360-1315(01)00026-4
Roger Perman Department of Economics University of Strathclyde Glasgow, UK E-mail address: [email protected]
Home informatics and telematics A. Sloane, F. van Rijn, (Eds.) Kluwer Academic Publishers, London, 2000, 218 pp. ISBN: 0-7923-7867-9 (hardcover) £95.
Home Informatics and Telematics is a collection of papers presented at the HOIT2000 conference held in Wolverhampton, UK in June 2000. The conference entitled ‘‘IT at Home: Virtual influences on everyday life’’ was organised by two of the working groups of the IFIP (International Federation of Information Processing) and the 16 papers collected in this volume touch upon a wide range of issues concerning the impact of contemporary information and communications technologies in the domestic environment. Few of the papers contained in the collection are likely to be of intrinsic interest to the readers of Computers & Education. Indeed only one of the papers, ‘‘School’s Out’’ by Carroll and Rosson, explicitly addresses educational issues; and it looks at community networking for educational purposes. However, as computer-mediated distance education plays an increasingly important roˆle, many of the issues that are addressed here are likely to be of increasing importance to educators. The 16 papers address issues related to: 1. a range of technological advances including developments in digital services (e.g. digital television) and patterns of PC use and purchase;
188
Book reviews / Computers & Education 37 (2001) 179–194
2. home teleworking and software to support domestic activities; and 3. community networking and other forms of electronically mediated social interaction. One of the papers, Kjare et al., also considers the ‘Methodological Challenges in the Study of Technology Use at Home’. Clearly the expected increase in digitally-delivered learning opportunities into the home and elsewhere means that educators are going to need good methodological models for the understanding of such activity and this paper makes a useful contribution to that better understanding. Similarly, Andrew Monk’s ‘User-Centred Design’ provides some valuable guidance about the design of user interfaces for the domestic digital environment. Also, if, as seems likely, distance education becomes increasingly reliant on digital delivery, educators will need to keep abreast of the emerging technologies. Claire Dormann’s ‘Enhanced Television and Interactive Services’ provides an excellent survey of the current state of the art. Finally, one of the most thought provoking of the papers in the collection is Katja OksanenSa¨rela¨’s ‘Invisible Technologies, Invisible Boundaries’. Quoting Mark Weiser she concludes, ‘‘The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it.’’ (p. 166). For ‘everyday life’ we may insert ‘educational life’ because therein lies the real significance of the digital revolution for education. Digital technologies will very rapidly become as transparent as the technology of print to both tutor and learner. Unfortunately, however interesting and useful this collection of papers, no conscientious reviewer could possibly recommend the purchase of the collection even by libraries at the price of £95. It is unclear why so many academic publishers seem to be so intent on ‘killing the goose’ that has been laying ‘golden eggs’ for them, but it is certainly clear that academics should not encourage them by purchasing or recommending the purchase of slender volumes such as this at exorbitant prices. Bruce Ingraham Centre for Lifelong Learning University of Teesside Middlesbrough TS1 3BA, UK PII: S0360-1315(01)00027-6
Supporting information and communications technology — a handbook for those who assist in early years settings Mike Farmer, Gina Farmer, David Fulton Publishers, London, 2000, 106 pp. ISBN 1-85346-6263, (paperback) £14.00. This A4 size book is one of a series designed for classroom assistants in early years learning environments. The authors attempt to provide a handbook for classroom assistants who may be
187
Inevitably, certain things are a little disappointing. In every chapter, a great deal of manual calculation is still expected of the student, and much ‘computer-based’ calculation is gone through before one reaches the part of the chapter which tells the reader how it is done in Excel. As a result, much flicking forwards and backwards in the text is required. In the chapters on probability and hypothesis testing the use of Excel feels a little strained; perhaps this reflects the fact that there is some elemental theory basis that cannot be learned except in a relatively conventional way. The text is also extremely long, which may deter some instructors who struggle with time limitations. The teacher would also have to be careful to limit the quantity of exercises students are expected to perform, not least because some involve huge amounts of time — and appear to be poorly judged in that respect. This is a book (or rather a set of resources) I can strongly recommend. Even the teacher who has devoted much time to developing resources in-house should look at this carefully.
PII: S0360-1315(01)00026-4
Roger Perman Department of Economics University of Strathclyde Glasgow, UK E-mail address: [email protected]
Home informatics and telematics A. Sloane, F. van Rijn, (Eds.) Kluwer Academic Publishers, London, 2000, 218 pp. ISBN: 0-7923-7867-9 (hardcover) £95.
Home Informatics and Telematics is a collection of papers presented at the HOIT2000 conference held in Wolverhampton, UK in June 2000. The conference entitled ‘‘IT at Home: Virtual influences on everyday life’’ was organised by two of the working groups of the IFIP (International Federation of Information Processing) and the 16 papers collected in this volume touch upon a wide range of issues concerning the impact of contemporary information and communications technologies in the domestic environment. Few of the papers contained in the collection are likely to be of intrinsic interest to the readers of Computers & Education. Indeed only one of the papers, ‘‘School’s Out’’ by Carroll and Rosson, explicitly addresses educational issues; and it looks at community networking for educational purposes. However, as computer-mediated distance education plays an increasingly important roˆle, many of the issues that are addressed here are likely to be of increasing importance to educators. The 16 papers address issues related to: 1. a range of technological advances including developments in digital services (e.g. digital television) and patterns of PC use and purchase;
188
Book reviews / Computers & Education 37 (2001) 179–194
2. home teleworking and software to support domestic activities; and 3. community networking and other forms of electronically mediated social interaction. One of the papers, Kjare et al., also considers the ‘Methodological Challenges in the Study of Technology Use at Home’. Clearly the expected increase in digitally-delivered learning opportunities into the home and elsewhere means that educators are going to need good methodological models for the understanding of such activity and this paper makes a useful contribution to that better understanding. Similarly, Andrew Monk’s ‘User-Centred Design’ provides some valuable guidance about the design of user interfaces for the domestic digital environment. Also, if, as seems likely, distance education becomes increasingly reliant on digital delivery, educators will need to keep abreast of the emerging technologies. Claire Dormann’s ‘Enhanced Television and Interactive Services’ provides an excellent survey of the current state of the art. Finally, one of the most thought provoking of the papers in the collection is Katja OksanenSa¨rela¨’s ‘Invisible Technologies, Invisible Boundaries’. Quoting Mark Weiser she concludes, ‘‘The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it.’’ (p. 166). For ‘everyday life’ we may insert ‘educational life’ because therein lies the real significance of the digital revolution for education. Digital technologies will very rapidly become as transparent as the technology of print to both tutor and learner. Unfortunately, however interesting and useful this collection of papers, no conscientious reviewer could possibly recommend the purchase of the collection even by libraries at the price of £95. It is unclear why so many academic publishers seem to be so intent on ‘killing the goose’ that has been laying ‘golden eggs’ for them, but it is certainly clear that academics should not encourage them by purchasing or recommending the purchase of slender volumes such as this at exorbitant prices. Bruce Ingraham Centre for Lifelong Learning University of Teesside Middlesbrough TS1 3BA, UK PII: S0360-1315(01)00027-6
Supporting information and communications technology — a handbook for those who assist in early years settings Mike Farmer, Gina Farmer, David Fulton Publishers, London, 2000, 106 pp. ISBN 1-85346-6263, (paperback) £14.00. This A4 size book is one of a series designed for classroom assistants in early years learning environments. The authors attempt to provide a handbook for classroom assistants who may be