The Internet in School: Problems and Possibilities

Speaker
Janet Ward Schofield
Psychology Department and Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh

When
-

Where
Wean Hall 5409

Description

This presentation reports the results of a wide ranging five-year study of a project designed to bring the Internet to a large urban school district. The goal of the research was to discover the kinds of issues that arise when the Internet is brought to schools for use in instruction and to understand how social and organizational processes in the school influence Internet use. After describing the project, its accomplishments, and the research methods used, the presentation will turn to discussing two quite disparate issues that had important implications for the project implementation and/or its educational impact. First, introduction of the Internet into the schools was impeded by differences in the cultural values and norms found in the schools and in the world of the technical professionals with whom educators needed to collaborate to bring the Internet to their classrooms. The nature of these clashes, their impact, and some ways of mitigating them are discussed. Second, the presentation will argue that numerous school level factors often resulted in greater access for students who were already ahead of their peers academically and who were from relatively privileged backgrounds. This, of course, is a finding at odds with the hope often expressed by policy makers and educators that Internet access will serve to foster educational equality.

Speaker's Bio

Janet Ward Schofield is a Professor of Psychology and a Senior Scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh. She received a B.A. Magna Cum Laude from Harvard where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Harvard University in 1972.

Professor Schofield is a social psychologist whose research has explored the impact of social and technological change in school settings. She has published over 50 papers on school desegregation and the impact of computer use in schools. She is also the author of three books including Computers and Classroom Culture published by Cambridge University Press in 1995. Another of her books, Black and White in School: Trust,Tension, or Tolerance?, was awarded the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Prize. Dr. Schofield is a member of the Board on International Comparative Studies in Education and of the Advisory Committee on Race and Ethnic Relations Among Youth at the National Academy of Sciences. She has served on the editorial boards of Social Psychology Quarterly, Peace and Conflict, Sociology of Education, Interactive Learning Environments, Journal of the Learning Sciences, and Review of Educational Research. A fellow of both the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Psychological Society (APS), Dr. Schofield served recently as a member of APAs governing body, the Council of Representatives.

Speaker's Website
http://www.pitt.edu/~schof/