コンピュータが子供たちをダメにする [単行本]

   コンピュータとインターネットの爆発的な普及で、ほしい情報がすぐにしかも手間をかけずに手に入る時代になった。しかし道具（コンピュータ）が便利になる一方で、それを使う人間が退化してしまう…。

   本書は、こういったコンピュータ社会の問題のなかでも、特に子供たちの教育とコンピュータの問題にフォーカスしている。文部科学省が数百億円を投じて力を入れている「IT教育」では、その中心としてパソコンを使った学習が推奨され、小中学生のうちからパソコンが使えるようにするという教育が推し進められている。

   著者は、こういったIT教育には効率的な学習ができる反面、さまざまな落とし穴が隠されているという。IT教育先進国のアメリカでは、巨額を投じて学校に導入したコンピュータシステムを、常に最新のものに維持するためのコストの問題をはじめ、さまざまな問題が噴出しているという。なかでも子供たちに対する「教育の質」は重要な問題だ。コンピュータを操作できることと、理解力や創造力の発達は別の問題で、コンピュータで問題を検索することはできても自分の頭で問題を考えることができない子供たちがアメリカでは実際に増えているという。

   コンピュータは「目的」ではなく、なにかをするための「手段」でしかないという当たり前のことが忘れ去られ、コンピュータを使えることが教育の目的であるかのようになりつつある、現在のコンピュータ社会と教育現場に鋭く問題を提起した1冊だ。（近藤大介）

コンピュータが子供たちをダメにする
かつてコンピューターといえば不気味な存在だった。映画や小説・マンガでは巨大コンピューターが世界を支配しようとするというシチュエーションが繰り返されたものだ。今日、コンピューター恐怖症は完全に払拭されたように思える。学校では「コンピューター・リテラシー」が議論され、すべての学校にパソコンが導入された。

　ちょっと待てよ、コンピューターはそんなに役に立つのか、すべての役に立つ万能薬なのか――と、この風潮に真っ向から疑義を唱えるのが本書である。著者は天文学者ではあるが「カッコウはコンピュータに卵を産む」でハッカーとの息詰まる攻防の体験を描いて一躍有名になった、ごく初期からのインターネット・ユーザーだ。

　その主張は単純明解。コンピューターは何かをする際に道具として役に立つが、「何をするか」は決めてくれない。むしろ「何をするか」ということの訓練にとってコンピューターは有害ではないか。問題そのものを見抜く能力や問題を解決する能力、つまりは人間に特有の思考能力は、コンピューターを使うことでは養えない。それどころか有害でさえあるというのだ。

　実際にインターネットを使っている身として、その主張はあまりに単純化が過ぎ、過激に走っていると思える部分もある。しかしその根幹は極めてまっとう。「コンピューターに子供は育てられない」ということだ。

　コンピューターはすべての問題をバラ色に解決する万能薬ではなく、便利な道具でしかない。そのことを思い出させてくれる本だ。パソコンとインターネットに浸っている人ほど読むべきだろう。

(ノンフィクションライター 松浦　晋也＝ノンフィクションライター)
(日経パソコン 2002/01/21 Copyright©2001 日経BP企画..All rights reserved.)

やっぱり黙っていられない／コンピュータが子供たちをダメにする（コンピュータが使えるということ／楽しい楽しいお勉強／気がつけば金喰いムシ／消えゆく教科書／本とマルチメディア／三歳児からのデジタル訓練／どこでバランスをとる?／数学vs電子計算機／遠隔学習のまやかし／サイバースクール）／IT時代に僕たちが喪うもの（テクノロジー幻想／ソフトウェア地獄にはまる／醜いコンピュータ／情報は力、なのか?／電話口で遭難する／図書館はもぬけのカラ／すぐ時代遅れになる／迷惑なパソコン・リサイクル／哀しきハイテク教会／ハンバーガーとインターネット／勝利のための究極の法則／インターネットの代償／一九七二年、ニューヨーク州立大学）

AかBかの選べる答えを求め、自分で考えようとしない子供たち。メールや携帯電話は大好きでも、他人と直接まじわることは嫌がる若者たち。情報は力なりと唱えつつ、膨大な情報に翻弄される大人たち…。コンピュータと人間とのバランスがおかしくなっている―この問題をさまざまな側面から考察する。

AかBかの選べる答えを求め、自分で考えようとしない子供たち。メールや携帯電話は大好きでも他人と直接まじわることは嫌がる若者たち…。子供への弊害を中心に、パソコンの害悪を指摘するエッセイ。IT時代へ警鐘を鳴らす。

Clifford Stoll loves computers. He loves them so much he even converted his old outdated Macintosh into an aquarium rather than put it out with the trash. What this veteran programmer and self-made social critic doesn't love, however, is "the cult of computing"--the "blind faith that technology will deliver a cornucopia of futuristic goodies without extracting payment in kind."

In particular, Stoll hates the way computer cultists have infiltrated America's schools, and in High Tech Heretic--a straight-talking, fast-moving broadside of a book--he aims every argument in his arsenal at the widespread belief that computers are the greatest educational invention since chalk. While he's at it, he also takes some potshots at the hype about virtual community, the Internet economy, and the death of the book, as well as the scourges of buggy software, ugly hardware, and PowerPoint.

Stoll's contrarianism is so wide-ranging he sometimes flails as he rushes to keep up with himself. But for the most part he hits his targets dead on. Stoll's chatty style and cracker-barrel wit (both of which occasionally grate) seem tailored to convince you he's just talking home-spun common sense, yet he's obviously done his research. Whether he's quoting Thomas Edison's predictions for that great educational tool, "the motion picture" ("in a few years it will supplant largely, if not entirely, the use of textbooks") or breaking down the grim budgetary implications of the high-tech school system (more computers means fewer teachers, music rooms, and books), Stoll's choice factual details--and spirited indignation--blow holes in the pretensions of the digital age. --Julian Dibbell
--このテキストは、絶版本またはこのタイトルには設定されていない版型に関連付けられています。

Stoll's first book, The Cuckoo's Egg, an exhilarating account of how he brought down a ring of computer hackers, was a 1989 bestseller. By 1995's Silicon Snake Oil, he'd become a digital apostate. He reiterates many of the points made in his second book here, focusing on the increasingly widespread use of computers in nurseries, preschools, classrooms and libraries. Throwing down the gauntlet in his introduction, he states, "I believe that a good school needs no computers. And a bad school won't be much improved by even the fastest Internet links. That a good teacher can handle her subject without any multimedia support.... That students, justifiably, recognize computer assignments primarily as entertainment, rather than education." In the first half of the book, he explains and justifies these beliefs: computers are expensive, quickly become obsolete and require maintenance by an expensive technical staff, usually paid for by eliminating other services (e.g., money for Internet connectivity sometimes comes from library budgets). He contends that computers and calculators work against familiarity with numbers, learning basic arithmetic and an understanding of algebra. Distance learning is a high-tech successor to correspondence schools, and neither has the impact or fascination of live courses, he believes. Stoll takes society's responsibility to educate children seriously, but his excessively anecdotal approach weakens his arguments, which would have been bolstered by a short bibliography. Still, there is much useful ammunition here for parents who share Stoll's views. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --このテキストは、絶版本またはこのタイトルには設定されていない版型に関連付けられています。

A thorough detonation of the hype surrounding computers in our lives, by the bestselling author of The Cuckoo's Egg and Silicon Snake Oil.

In a book that should spark debate across the country, Clifford Stoll, one of the pioneers of the Internet and a renowned gadfly of the computer industry, takes an insightful, provocative--and entertaining--look at how computers have encroached on our lives. High Tech Heretic punctures the exaggerated benefits of everything from foisting computers on preschoolers to "free" software to computer "help desks" that help no one at all. Why, Stoll asks, is there a relentless drumbeat for "computer literacy" by educators and the high-tech industry when the computer's most common uses are for word processing and games? Is diverting scarce education resources from teachers and equipment in favor of computers in the classroom the best use of school money? Are supermarket checkout clerks computer literate because they operate a laser scanner? Has no one noticed that the closest equivalent to today's hot new multimedia and Internet Web sites are--(drumroll)--Classics Illustrated, the comic books based on literature?

In these fascinating contrarian commentaries, Stoll focuses his droll wit and penetrating gaze on everything from why computers have to be so darned "ugly" to the cultural aftershocks of our high-tech society, to how to turn an outdated 386 computer into something useful, like a fish tank or a cat litter box.

As one who loves computers as much as he disdains the inflated promises made on their behalf, Cliff Stoll is nothing less than a P. J. O'Rourke of the computer age--barbed, opinionated, and essential.
--このテキストは、絶版本またはこのタイトルには設定されていない版型に関連付けられています。

Contrarian Clifford Stoll speaks out:

On computer literacy:

"I don't think our society suffers from a fear of technology. If anything, our problems are rooted in a love affair with gizmos."

"Sure, kids love computers. I met an eighth grader who told me he'd spent his summer vacation logged onto the Internet for seven hours a day. Every day of the summer. A thirteen-year-old girl looked at me with a fresh face and asked, 'How can I meet boys if I'm not on-line?'"

On computers in the classroom:

"Whenever I point out the dubious value of computers in schools, I hear, 'Look, computers are everywhere, so we have to bring them into the classroom.' Well, automobiles are everywhere, too. They play a damned important part in our society, and it's hard to get a job if you can't drive. In fact, cars count for more of our economy than do computers. But we don't teach automotive literacy."

"So how long does it take to learn word processing? A day? Maybe three? Of course, using a computer requires learning to type. Oops, I mean acquiring keyboarding proficiency. Still, this is hardly rocket science."

On computers, the Internet and the information age:

"For years, we've been bludgeoned with the cliché 'information is power.' But information isn't power. After all, who's got the most information in your neighborhood? Librarians. And they're famous for having no power at all. And who has the most power in your community? Politicians. And they're notorious for being ill-informed."

On computers and aesthetics:

"Why are computers so ugly? How come I can buy a red shirt, an orange umbrella, a yellow bowling ball, a green radio, and a blue car, but computers are all beige boxes? It's as if Henry Ford ran the computer business: you can have any color you wish, as long as it's off-white putty." --このテキストは、絶版本またはこのタイトルには設定されていない版型に関連付けられています。

Contrarian Clifford Stoll speaks out:

On computer literacy:

"I don't think our society suffers from a fear of technology. If anything, our problems are rooted in a love affair with gizmos."

"Sure, kids love computers. I met an eighth grader who told me he'd spent his summer vacation logged onto the Internet for seven hours a day. Every day of the summer. A thirteen-year-old girl looked at me with a fresh face and asked, 'How can I meet boys if I'm not on-line?'"

On computers in the classroom:

"Whenever I point out the dubious value of computers in schools, I hear, 'Look, computers are everywhere, so we have to bring them into the classroom.' Well, automobiles are everywhere, too. They play a damned important part in our society, and it's hard to get a job if you can't drive. In fact, cars count for more of our economy than do computers. But we don't teach automotive literacy."

"So how long does it take to learn word processing? A day? Maybe three? Of course, using a computer requires learning to type. Oops, I mean acquiring keyboarding proficiency. Still, this is hardly rocket science."

On computers, the Internet and the information age:

"For years, we've been bludgeoned with the cliché 'information is power.' But information isn't power. After all, who's got the most information in your neighborhood? Librarians. And they're famous for having no power at all. And who has the most power in your community? Politicians. And they're notorious for being ill-informed."

On computers and aesthetics:

"Why are computers so ugly? How come I can buy a red shirt, an orange umbrella, a yellow bowling ball, a green radio, and a blue car, but computers are all beige boxes? It's as if Henry Ford ran the computer business: you can have any color you wish, as long as it's off-white putty."
--このテキストは、絶版本またはこのタイトルには設定されていない版型に関連付けられています。

Clifford Stoll, an MSNBC commentator, lecturer, and a Berkeley astronomer, is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Cuckoo's Egg and Silicon Snake Oil: Second Thoughts on the Information Highway. He lives with his family in the San Francisco Bay area. --このテキストは、絶版本またはこのタイトルには設定されていない版型に関連付けられています。

ストール,クリフォード
1950年、ニューヨーク州バッファロー生まれ。アリゾナ大学ツーソン校で惑星科学の博士号を取得。ハーバード・スミソニアン天体物理学研究所、ローレンス・バークレー研究所等で研究活動を続けている。自身のハッカー追跡体験を綴った『カッコウはコンピュータに卵を産む』や『インターネットはからっぽの洞窟』はいずれも世界的ベストセラーとなった

倉骨 彰
数理言語学博士。テキサス大学オースチン校大学院言語学研究科博士課程修了。(株)オープンテクノロジーズ勤務(本データはこの書籍が刊行された当時に掲載されていたものです)