Computers in the clinic - Oversold and Underused

Oversold and Underused is the title of a book,  where "  one of the most respected voices in American education argues that when teachers are not given a say in how the technology might reshape schools, computers are merely souped-up typewriters and classrooms continue to run much as they did a generation ago. In his studies of early childhood, high school, and university classrooms in Silicon Valley, Larry Cuban found that students and teachers use the new technologies far less in the classroom than they do at home, and that teachers who use computers for instruction do so infrequently and unimaginatively.


Cuban points out that historical and organizational economic contexts influence how teachers use technical innovations. Computers can be useful when teachers sufficiently understand the technology themselves, believe it will enhance learning, and have the power to shape their own curricula. But these conditions can't be met without a broader and deeper commitment to public education beyond preparing workers. More attention, Cuban says, needs to be paid to the civic and social goals of schooling, goals that make the question of how many computers are in classrooms trivial."

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674011090/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0674011090&linkCode=as2&tag=hackeduc-20

It's uncanny how similar this is to the problem which doctors face with EMRs today ! The common denominator seems to be that the technology is thrust on the end-user, where it just ends up disrupting workflow, rather than helping them to be more productive and useful.