Anyone who says that computers are bad for kids or teach them not to think either does not have children or does not work in education.
Advantages:We live in a computer age. By exposing kids to computers at young ages, they are exposed to a skill that adults are having to catch up to. Children will be able to keep up in the Information Age and will do so successfully.Another advantage involves the amount of information available via the Internet. Some smaller, rural schools may not have the same tangible resources as larger schools. Computers help level the playing field by allowing all students to have access to different ideas, thoughts, and materials they would not otherwise have.A lot of educational material that can be used to supplement curriculum material is available via the Internet, too. Additionally, because not all students learn the same way, computers can offer a variety of ways to teach materials, be it through graphic organizers (kidsperation), visually "seeing" a product on screen and being able to "move it" via copy/paste, or other ways.Computers can also help students who might be unable to see a blackboard, students with visual disabilities. A lot of programs are available that "talk" to students or tell them what is on a screen, opening up a whole world of possibilities. Computer screens and fonts can be adjusted to allow students to see them, too, giving these students another chance at learning.Students can be interactive learners with computers. They may read, do activities, play educational games and learn. They can ask for help from others or develop penpals from other countries, thus learning about other cultures. They may be able to virtually visit places that they would otherwise never have the chance to visit. So many children have no concept of what an ocean is because their parents cannot afford to take them, but with a computer they can see it and understand. The possibilities are endless.The disadvantages do exist, though. Students must be educated about the dangers that exist; computers are not babysitters. Children need to be guided about the good that computers can do and led to use computers in a way that can be productive; just because a computer can load WoW doesn't mean that's the best use of time.Speaking of time, children must learn to balance their time on the computer. Too much time spent on the computer can be dangerous because it interferes with other physical activities that can help them be balanced individuals.And of course, there are lots of Not Good things on computers that children must be shielded from and later, when they are older, explained. This might make for uncomfortable conversations.Last, the disadvantage of computers is that they are not available to all children's educations. This will mean that later, there is an inbalance in the amount of computer knowledge and there will be a group of adults who are scared of computers or are ignorant about the possibilities because they were never exposed to them.I'm sure there are more on both sides of the fence, but this is a start.
