"I'm the thinkist, you're the typist": The Interaction of Technology and the Social Life of Classrooms.

The experimental research approach has some limitations when used to understand the effects of the recent introduction of computers on the social context of classrooms. Rather than looking for effects per se, an alternate framework is used to study the places and processes of change that accompany the use of new technologies. The authors outline two critical elements of the process by which computers are incorporated into the social context of the classroom. First, teachers' interpretations of the meaning of the software- its purpose and value, and whether it has a legitimate relationship to traditional curricular areas and modes of learning- will play a central role in how and whether computers become an integral part of the classroom. Second, teachers' and students' views regarding the new kinds of learning interactions often arising when working with computers, namely) the legitimacy of collaborative work and child experts, will also have a powerful influence in shaping the role of computers. The paper concludes with a discussion of how computers may enable teachers and students to learn new things about and through the technology, as well as provide opportunities for rethinking the learning agendas and the organization of learning interactions currently employed by schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]