1. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
P a t r i c k Suppes
Lucie Stern Professor of Philosophy
Stanford University
A a comment on t h e p a p e r
s by D r . A l i o t o and M s . "hornton, I would
:
like to try to putthecurrenteffortsineducationaltechnologyin
historical perspective, From t h i s p e r s p e c t i v e I move t o t h e p r e s e n t ,
i"
with some r e m a r k s a b o u t t h e e x t e n s i v e e f f o r t s i n San F r a n c i s c o , and on
t o some p r e d i c t i o n s a b o u t t h e f u t u r e .
Past EducationalTechnologies
I can i d e n t i f y a t l e a s t f i v e major t e c h n o l o g i c a l i n n o v a t i o n s in
the p a s t t h a t are comparable t o t h e c u r r e n t c o m p u t e r r e v o l u t i o n .
f
Written Records
The f i r s t i s t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n of w r i t t e n r e c o r d s f o r teacI1ing
purposes i n a n c i e n t times. W do n o t know e x a c t l y when t h e u s e
e of
writtenrecords f o r instructionalpurposesbeganbut w e do have, as early
as Plato's Dialogues, wrritten i n t h e f i f t h c e n t u r y B.C., sophisticated L
objections to the use of w r i t t e n r e c o r d s .
Today noone would d o u b t t h e v a l u e of w r i t t e n m a t e r i a l i n e d u c a t i o n ,
but there were v e r y s t r o n g and c o g e n t o b j e c t i o n s t o t h i s v e r y earliest
innovation $ 2 e d u c a t i o n ,
1 The o b j e c t i o n s were t h e s e : a w r i t t e nr e c o r d is
very impersonal; i t i s very uniform; í t does n o t a d a p t t o t h e i n d i v i d u a l
t
i
s t u d e n t ; i t d o e sn o te s t a b l i s hr a p p o r tw i t ht h es t u d e n t . I n o t h e r words,
F
30
s'

2. Socrates and t h e a n c i e n t S o p h i s t s , t h e t u t o r s ofstudentsinancient
Athens,objected t o introducingwrittenrecords and d e s t r o y i n g t h e k i n d
ofpersonalrelationbetweenstudent and t u t o r t h a t was a p a r t of t h e i r
main r e a s o n f o r b e i n g .
It has become a f a m i l i a r s t o r y i n o u r own time t h a t a t e c h n o l o g i c a l
innovation has side effects that are n o t a l w a y s u n i f o r m l y b e n e f i c i a l .
It i s i m p o r t a n t t o r e c o g n i z e t h a t t h i s i s n o t a new a s p e c t of innovation
b u t h a s been with us from the beginning.
Libraries
The secondinnovation was the founding of l i b r a r i e s i n t h e a n c i e n t
world,the most important example b e i n g t h e famous Alexandrian Library
t h a t was establishedaround 300 B.C. Because of c e r t a i nd e m o c r a t i c
traditions,thepreeminence of t h e c r e a t i v e work i n p h i l o s o p h y and
p o e t r y , i t i s e a s yt ot h i n k of Athens as t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l c e n t e r ofthe
H e l l e n i cw o r l d .I nf a c t ,t h a tc e n t e r was r e a l l yA l e x a n d r i a . From about
250 B.C. t o A.D. 4 0 0 , n o to n l y was A l e x a n d r i a t h e mostimportantcenter
of mathematicsandastronomy in the ancient world--it was a l s o a major
c e n t e r of l i t e r a t u r e , e s p e c i a l l y b e c a u s e of t h e c o l l e c t i o n i n t h e
AlexandrianLibrary. The f i r s t r e a l beginnings of c r i t i c a l s c h o l a r s h i p
inthewesternworld in literature, the editing of t e x t s , t h e a n a l y s i s
of s t y l e , t h e d r a w i n g up of b i b l i o g r a p h i e s , t o o k p l a c e i n t h e A l e x a n d r i a n
L i b r a r y .T h i sr e v o l u t i o ni ne d u c a t i o nc o n s i s t e dn o ts i m p l yo fh a v i n gi n
one p l a c e a l a r g e number of p a p y r u s m a n u s c r i p t s b u t i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n
of l a r g eb o d i e so fl e a r n i n g ,S c h o l a r s from a l l overthewesternworld
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3. came t o A l e x a n d r i a t o s t u d y and t o t a l k t o o t h e r s ,
Libraries of a s u b s t a n t i a l n a t u r e were t o b e found i n o t h e r major
c i t i e s of t h e a n c i e n t w o r l d , n o t t o mention the large collections of
l e a r n i n gi nC h i n a ,I n d i a , andKorea.
Printing
The t h i r d i n n o v a t i o n of g r e a t h i s t o r i c a l i m p o r t a n c e i n e d u c a t i o n
was t h e move f r o m w r i t t e n r e c o r d s t o p r i n t e d books, I n t h e western
world we i d e n t i f y the b e g i n n i n g d a t e of t h i s J n n o v a t i o n w i t h t h e
i
p r i n t i n g of t h eG u t e n b e r gB i b l ei n 1452. It í s i m p o r t a n tt or e c o g n i z e , i
l
however, t h a t t h e r e was e x t e n s i v e u s e of b l o c k p r i n t i n g i n Koreaand
China three o r four hundredyears earlier. Nearly h a l f a millennium
later í t i s d i f f i c u l t t o have a v i v i d s e n s e of how i m p o r t a n t t h e
innovation of p r i n t i n gt u r n e do u tt ob e ,I nt h ea n c i e n tw o r l d of t h e
Mediterranean there were only a few m a j o r l i b r a r i e s , a number so small
thattheycouldbecounted on t h e f i n g e r s o f onehand. One of t h e
famous a s p e c t s of Alexandria,forexample, was thewealth and
magnitude of i t s l i b r a r y , and the Alexandrian Library of 100 B,C. had
f e w competitors. The reason í s obvious: it w a s i m p o s s i b l et oh a v e
l a r g e numbers of c o p i e s of manuscripts reproduced when a l l copying
had t o b e done t e d i o u s l y by hand, The i n t r o d u c t i o n of p r i n t i n g i n the
fifteenth century produced a radical innovation--indeed a revolution--
i n t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n of i n t e l l e c t u a l and e d u c a t i o n a l materials. By t h e
middle of the sixteenth century not only European institutions but
wealthyfamilies as w e l l had l i b r a r i e s of s e r i o u s p r o p o r t i o n s .
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4. Once again, however, there were d e f i n i t e t e c h n o l o g i c a l side e f f e c t s
t h a t were not u n i f o r m l y b e n e f i c i a l . Those who know t h e a r t and t h e
beauty of t h e m e d i e v a l m a n u s c r i p t s t h a t p r e c e d e d t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n of
printing can appreciate that mass p r i n t i n g was regarded by soma a s a
degradation of the s t a t e of reproduction.
It is a l s o i m p o r t a n t t o h a v e a sense of how slow the impact of a
t e c h n o l o g i c a lí n n o v a t l o nc a n sometimesbe. It was n o t u n t i l t h e end
of t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y t h a t books were u s e d e x t e n s i v e l y f o r t e a c h i n g
i ns c h o o l s .I na r i t h m e t i c ,f o re x a m p l e , most t e a c h e r sc o n t i n u e dt o
u s e o r a l methods throughout the nineteenth century and i t was n o t
u n t i l almost the beginning of t h e present century that appropriate
elementarytextbooks i n mathematicswereavailable, It i s c e r t a i n l y
m hope t h a t i t w i l l . not r e q u i r e 500 years t o d i s t r i b u t e computers
y
i n t o s c h o o l s , a figure comparable to what it took to d i s t r i b u t e
a r i t h m e t i c textbooks i n t os c h o o l s .F o r t u n a t e l y , t h es c a l e of
dissemination in the modern world is ofan entirely different order
from what i t was i n t h e p a s t . P e r h a p s m f a v o r i t e example i s t h e
y
estimate that i t tookoverfiveyears f o r t h e news of J u l i u s C a e s a r ' s
a s s a s s i n a t i o nt or e a c ht h ef u r t h e s tc o r n e r s of t h e Roman Empire, Today
such an assassination would be known throughout the world i n a matter
of minutes.
With r e g a r d t o t h e p a c e a t whichbookshavebeenintroduced into
education, i t would be a m i s t a k e t o t h i n k t h a t t h e r e was something
peculiarabouttheuse of methods of r e c i t a t i o n i n t h e e l e m e n t a r y s c h o o l
u n t i l Zate i n t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y ; s t o r i e s of a comparable s o r t a l s o
33

5. p
F
hold a t t h e u n i v e r s i t y l e v e l . According t o a t least oneaccount,the
last professor at the University of Cambridge i n England who i n s i s t e d
on f o l l o w i n g t h e r e c i t a t i v e t r a d i t i o n t h a t d a t e s b a c k t o t h e Middle
Ages was C . D. Broad. A s l a t e as t h e 1 9 4 0 ' s h e d i c t a t e d andthen
repeatedeachsentencesothatstudents would have adequate time t o
write e a c hs e n t e n c ee x a c t l y as d i c t a t e d . I cannotimaginecontemporary
university students tolerating such methods,
Mass Schooling
The f o u r t h i n n o v a t i o n , and a g a i n o n e t h a t w e now a c c e p t as a
completeand n a t u r a lp a r t of o u r s o c i e t y , i s mass schooling. W have
e
a tendency i n t a l k i n g a b o u t o u r s o c i e t y t o p u t s c h o o l s and f a m i l i e s
i n t ot h e same category of m a j o r i n s t i t u t i o n s . But i t i s extremely
important t o r e c o g n i z e t h e g r e a t p s y c h o l o g i c a l d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e
s t a t u s of t h ef a m i l y and t h e s t a t u s of schools.Families are r e a l l y
deep intoourblood and o u r c u l t u r e . The evidence of f a m i l i e s i n one
form o r a n o t h e r b e i n g t h e most i m p o r t a n t c u l t u r a l u n i t goes back
thousands of years.Schools are n o t a t a l l comparable;they are, we
mightsay,very much Johnny-come-lately t o o u rc u l t u r e . A hundred
, t
t .
years ago i n 1870, f o r example,only two p e r c e n t OE young people
graduatedfromhighschool í n the U n i t e d S t a t e s . A h u n d r e dy e a r sb e f o r e
that only a v e r y small p e r c e n t a g e e v e n f i n i s h e d t h i r d o r f o u r t h g r a d e .
I cannot give youan exact percentage because our record-keeping, that
ris, o u r s o c i a l s t a t i s t i c s , are n o t much more than a h u n d r e d y e a r s o l d
and we have no s e r i o u s i d e a of howmany s t u d e n t s were a c t u a l l y i n s c h o o l
34

6. two hundred y e a r s a g o , e x c e p t t h a t we do know t h a t t h e number was q u i t e
small.
Even as s h o r t a p e r i o d as f i f t y y e a r s ago, i n most of the world
less than one percent of the population completed secondary school.
During t h e r e c e n t u p h e a v a l s c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e " c u l t u r a l r e v o l u t i o n " i n
China t h e e l e m e n t a r y s c h o o l s , n o t t o s p e a k of c o l l e g e s andsecondary
schools, were c l o s e d f o r several y e a r s . I n o u r s o c i e t y as w e now t h i n k
of i t , i t i s u n b e l i e v a b l e t o c o n t e m p l a t e c l o s i n g t h e e l e m e n t a r y s c h o o l s
f o r such a p e r i o d of time. From a C h i n e s e h i s t o r i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e , how-
e v e r , i t w a s notsuch an important matter, f o r Chinesecultureextends
back continuously several thousand years and t h e r e i s i n t h a t c u l t u r a l
t r a d i t i o n no s a l i e n t p l a c e f o r mass schooling.
I n many d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s of t h e w o r l d t o d a y t h e b e s t t h a t c a n
be hoped i s t h a t t h e m a j o r i t y of t h e young people w i l l be given four
grades of elementaryschool.Untilthepopulatíongrowth i s brought
i n check, i t w i g 1 t a k e all a v a i l a b l e r e s o u r c e s t o achievethis much.
The p o s i t i o n of America as a w o r l d l e a d e r i n e d u c a t i o n i s sometimes n o t
adequately recognized by m fellow Americans, because
y w e a c c e p t as so
much a p a r t of o u r c u l t u r e t h e c o n c e p t of al1 young peoplecompleting
secondaryschool and a highpercentagegoing on t o c o l l e g e . In f a c t ,
our leadership in creating a s o c i e t y w i t h mass education i s perhapsone
of t h e most i m p o r t a n t a s p e c t s of American i n f l u e n c e i n t h e w o r l d .
A s r e c e n t l y as t h e l a t t e r p a r t o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y t h e
British hilosopher, ohn tuart
p J S M i l l , d e s p a i r e d of democracy ever
r e a l l y workinganywhere i n t h e world f o r onereason--it was simply not
35

7. . b i .
p o s s i b l et oe d u c a t et h em a j o r i t y of t h e p o p u l a t i o n . I n h i s view i t was
notpossibletohave a significant percentage of t h e p o p u l a t i o n a b l e tQ
read and t o b e i n f o r m e d a b o u t p o l i t i c a l e v e n t s . A s i n t h e case of many
s u c hp r e d i c t i o n s ,h e was very much i n e r r o r . The r e v o l u t i o n i n mass
schooling i s one of t h e most s t r i k i n g phenomena of t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y .
Testing
The f i f t h e d u c a t i o n a l i n n o v a t i o n i s t e s t i n g , which i s i n many ways
o l d e rt h a nt h ec o n c e p t of mass schooling. The g r e a t t r a d i t i o n of t e s t i n g
was f i r s t e s t a b l i s h e d , i n China; t e s t i n g t h e r e began i n t h e f i f t h c e n t u r y
A . D . and became f i r m l ye n t r e n c h e d by t h et w e l f t hc e n t u r y A.D. There i s
a continuoushistory from t h e t w e l f t h c e n t u r y t o t h e end of t h e n i n e t e e n t h
centuryintheuseof tests f o r t h e s e l e c t i o n of mandarins--the civil
#
s e r v a n t s who r a nt h ei m p e r i a l government o f China. The c i v i l service
positions held bymandarins were regarded as t h e e l i t e s o c i a l p o s i t i o n s
in the society.
The importance of t h e s e tests i n C h i n e s e s o c i e t y í s w e l l a t t e s t e d
t o by t h el i t e r a t u r e of v a r i o u sp e r i o d s . I f 0n.e examines, f o r example,
t h e l i t e r a t u r e of t h e f i f t e e n t h o r s i x t e e n t h c e n t u r y , o n e i s impressed
by theconcernexpressed f o r performance on tests. A v a r i e t y of l i t e r a r y
tales focused on t h e q u e s t i o n of whether sons would s u c c e s s f u l l y c o m p l e t e
t h e tests andwhat this would mean f o r t h e f a m i l y , (As youmightexpect,
in those days women had no p l a c e i n t h e management o f t h e s o c i e t y and
no place as a p p l i c a n t s f o r civil s e r v i c e p o s i t i o n s , ) The procedures of
s e l e c t i o n were as r i g o r o u s as t h o s e f o u n d i n a contemporarymedical
36

8. s c h o o lo r a g r a d u a t es c h o o l of b u s i n e s s i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . In many
p e r i o d s fewer than two p e r c e n t of t h o s e who began the tests (whichwere
arrangedin a complicatedhierarchy)successfullycompletedthesequence
and were put on t h e l i s t of e l i g i b l e mandarins.
Although t e s t i n g h a s a h i s t o r y t h a t g o e s b a c k h u n d r e d s of y e a r s ,
i n many ways i t i s p r o p e r t o r e g a r d t e s t i n g as a twentieth-century
innovation because it was o n l y i n t h i s c e n t u r y t h a t t h e s c i e n t i f i c and
t e c h n i c a ls t u d y of tests began. It is o n l y i n t h i s c e n t u r y t h a t t h e r e
hasbeen a serious effort to understand and t o d e f i n e what c o n s t i t u t e s
a good t e s t f o r a g i v e n a p t i t u d e , a givenachievement,or a given skill.
Moreover, t h i s i n t e n s i v e s t u d y of t e s t i n g from a t e c h n i c a l s t a n d p o i n t
was p r i m a r i l y a focus of American research by such e d u c a t i o n a l
psychologists a s Edward L. Thorndike. The t r a d i t i o nt h a t Thorndike
beganhas become a majorone i n our society and i s a source of c o n t i n u a l
controversy n
i terms of i s s u e s of f a i r n e s s and o b j e c t i v i t y .C e r t a i n l y
currerLt s p e c u l a t i o n s a s t o t h e r e a s o n s f o r t h e d e c l i n e i n theverbal
and mathematical scores on t h e S c h o l a s t i c A p t i t u d e Tests provide an
e x c e l l e n t exampleof the kind of d e t a i l e d s c r u t i n y w e g i v e o u r tests
t h a t is completelyuncharacteristic of any t r a d i t i o n o f t e s t i n g , whether
i n China,Europe ortheUnited States p r i o r t o t h i s c e n t u r y .
The f i v e i n n o v a t i o n s t h a t I havediscussed--writtenrecords,
libraries,printedbooks,schools, and tests--are t h e v e r y f a b r i c ofour
educationalsystemtoday. It i s almostunthinkabletocontemplate a
modern educational system without each of these innovations playing an
important part.
37

9. O f these five technologies, nonehadbeen i n any way adequately
E o r e c a s to ro u t l i n e d a t t h e time i t was introduced, O f course, a f e w
individuals foresaw the consequences andhadsomething to say about
those c o n s e q u e n c e s , b u t c e r t a i n l y t h e d e t a i l s of t h e u s e of any of
these f i v e technologies had not been adequately foreseen, l a m certain
t h a t t h e same t h i n g will be t r u e of technologies now developing €or
use í n t h e f u t u r e , and s o I do n o t want t o a p p e a r c o n f i d e n t t h a t
what I s a y i s a c o r r e c t s c e n a r i o f o r t h e f u t u r e . But I want t o s a y
somethingabout
each of t h e f i v e . F i r s t , I havementioned,
and I want
t o re-emphasize, the very recent and h i s t o r i c a l l y v e r y t r a n s i e n t
characterofschools. It i s a phenomenon i n a g e n e r a ls e n s eo ft h e
l a s t hundred y e a r s i n t h e mostdeveloped p a r t s of t h e w o r l d , and a
phenomenon of the l a s t t h i r t y y e a r s o r s o ( t h a t i s , s i n c e World W r 1 )
a 1
i n t h e underdeveloped p a r t s sf t h e w o r l d . Now, anTmportantquestion
f o rt h ef u t u r e is t h i s : I n f i f t y o r onehundred years, w i l l w e a b o l i s h
schools? Will we d e l i v e r i n t o t h e home, o r i n t o small neighborhood
u n i t s , by t e c h n o l o g i c a l means a l l c u r r i c u l u ma n di n s t r u c t i o n ?F u r t h e r ,
w i l l thedesiresorgoals of t h e i n d i v i d u a l , t h e f a m i l y , t h e p a r e n t s ,
or the neighborhood group be such that children will n o t b e í n s c h o o l ,
but a t home o r i n t h e neighborhood? The answers t o t h e s e q u e s t i o n s
are not e a s y t o p r e d i c t o r t o f o r e s e e .
The same k i n d of f o r e c a s t may b e made f o r books. The importance '
of books t h a t we have f e l t f o r several hundred y e a r s , since the
beginning of the Renaissance, and t h a t h a s b e e n a s s o c i a t e d with t h e
developmept
and education of a ni n f o r m e dc i t i z e n r y , may f a d e away. I
38

10. thinkthat all of us, a t l e a s t t h o s e of m age,haveseen
y t h i s already
i nt h ec a s eo f young s t u d e n t s . Some r e c e n t s t u d i e s h a v e i n d i c a t e d t h a t
the cultural reference points of t h e younger generation are no longer
I ,
t '
' t o befound i n books, o r i n c u r r e n t n o v e l s , b u t i n t e l e v i s i o n andmovies,
Inthe case of tests, I also p r e d i c t t h a t t h i s c l a s s i c a l t e c h n o l o g y
w i l l d e c r e a s ei ni m p o r t a n c e . I b e l i e v et h a t tests w i l l d e c r e a s e i n
importance because w e will h a v e t h e t e c h n o l o g i c a l means t o keep a much
more s a t i s f a c t o r y and much more d e t a i l e d r e c o r d o f t h e l e a r n i n g of
i n d i v i d u a ls t u d e n t s . Thus inferencesabouttheperformance of s t u d e n t s
i,
1
and t h e i r c a p a b i l i t i e s f o r t a k i n g n e x t s t e p s w i l l dependupon a much
L i
t '
more s u b s t a n t i a l r e c o r d , a much b e t t e r b a s i s o f i n f e r e n c e t h a n w e have
íncurrent tests,
A s f o rl i b r a r i e s ,t h e y w i l l be totally transformed, 1 f e e l more
confident of t h i s p r e d i c t i o n t h a n of of
any t h eo t h e r s .E l e c t r o n i c
access w i l l be widely available in homes, i n o f f i c e s , and i n s c h o o l s
of what o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i o n a l k i n d we have.There w i l l belibraries but
they w i l l b e e l e c t r o n i c l i b r a r i e s .
I
Finally,what abouts t h e w r i t t e n r e c o r d ? The w r i t t e n r e c o r d will
undoubtedlycontinue t o haveimportance,but I think that when i t comes
t o teaching,theobjectionsfoundinPlato'sDialogues t o thecold and
n e u t r a l w r i t t e n word a s opposed to t h e warm and f r i e n d l y v o i c e o f t h e
teacher w i l l o n c e a g a i n b e h e a r d a n d p e r c e i v e d a s s e r i o u s o b j e c t i o n s ,
What I a s a y i n g i s t h a t , i n s t a r t i n g
m t o thinkaboutthefuture, w e can
forecastobsolescence o r semi-obsolescence for a l l of t h e g r e a t
technologies of t h e past--and t h a t is proper and a p p r o p r i a t e .
39

11. c
1
!
Issues Raisedby Computer-Assisted Instruction
The current operational use of computer-assisted instruction in
many schools in this country, use that is well exemplified by the
a
detailed discussionof Alioto and Thornton, raises number of issues
a
I would now like to turn.
of a broad educational and social kind to which
I will discuss four rather closely related issues that have had
a certain
prominence in the discussion computer-assisted instruction (CAI):
of
1) individualization of instruction, 2) standardization of instruction,
3) complexity of instruction, and4 ) freedom ín education.
Individualization of Instruction
The first issue centers around the claim that the deep use
of
a rigid regime
technology, specifically computer technology, will impose
of impersonalized teaching. Perhaps the best ímage this issue in h e
of t
of
popular press ís that student protest at being by computer
represented
records in the files the centralschool administration.
of
To those of
advancing this claim deep impersonalization, ít is
important to say that indeed this is possibility, Computer technology
a
could be used in t h i s way, 2nd ín some instances probably will. This
it
is little different from saying that there are many teaching
of kinds
and many ways ín which the environment of learning and may be
teaching
debased, The important point to insist upon, however, ís that ís
ít i
certainly nota necessary aspectof the use of the technology.
Indeed, our claim would e that oneof the computer's most
b
important potentialsís exactly the opposite. Computers can make
40

12. learning and teaching more personalized rather than s o . Students
less
will be subject to less regimentation and lockstepping, because computer
systems will be able to offer highly individualized instruction.
It is important that the remark about individualized instruction
not be passed in
off as sloganeering. For many years,courses the
methodology of teaching have emphasized the importanceteaching
of
according to the needsf individual students and therefore attempting
o
It
to individualize instruction as much as possible. is recognized,
however, by anyone who has examined the structure schools either
of our
at the elementary- or secondary-school level that a high ofdegree
individualization ís extraordinarily difficult to achieve when the
25 to
ratio of students to teachers is approximately 1.
One direct approach is to reduce this ratio to something or
5 like
10 to 1, but the economics this approach is totally unfeasible in
of
All
the long run and on a widespread basis. the evidence points to
the fact that the cost having first-rate teachers in the classroom,
of
training these teachers appropriately, and providing them with the kind
of salaries that will be competitive with other technical and
for
professional jobs in our society will simply make it impossible
schools to afford any drastic reduction in the student-teacher
ratio.
One of the few real opportunities for offering individualized
of
instruction lies in the use computers as instructional devices.
I do wishto emphasize thatI do not envisage replacing teachers
It
entirely, especially at the elementary-school level. would be
technology only20 to
my estimate that even under the maximumof use
41

13. 30 percent of students' time in the elementary school would be spent at
of
computer terminals. While classes or substantial parts classes were
working at terminals, teachers would be able to work with the remainder.
Moreover, they would be able to work intensely with individual
students, partly because some the students would be at the terminals,
of
and equally because routine of
aspectsteaching would be handled by the
computer system.
At
A t the post secondary leve1,matters are very different.most
now
colleges and universities,students do not receive a great dealof
individual attention from instructors. Certainly
we can all recognize
the degree of personal attention ís greatercomputer
in a program
designed to accommodate itself to individual students' progress than
on
in the lecture course a general subject that more than 200
has
students in daily attendance.
Complex intellectual problems are yet to be solved in offering
tutorial computer programs on advanced subjectse university
t h at level.
1 do believe that the teaching basic skills ranging from elementary
of
mathematics to foreign-language instruction at the college level
can
well be performed by computer-assisted cocrses,
- Extensive results of
many efforts in computer-assisted instruction at the university level
at Stanford are reported in Suppes
(3.981).
Standardization of Instruction
A second common claim is that the widespread use of computer
technology w i l l lead to excessive standardization education. This
of
42
d

14. claim was r a i s e d r e p e a t e d l y i n g e n e r a l d i s c u s s i o n s w i t h e d u c a t o r s and
t h ei n t e r e s t e dp u b l i c .I n 1968 when I w a s l e c t u r i n g oncomputer-
assisted instruction in Australia, exactly this claim was made byone
-.
of t h e s e n i o r p r o f e s s o r s of e d u c a t i o n i n A u s t r a l i a . When h e was asked
howmany d i f f e r e n t books on A u s t r a l i a n h i s t o r y are used i n t h e A u s t r a l i a n
secondaryschools,thereply was t h a t t w o books are used i n over 90
p e r c e n t of t h e c l a s s e s .
To t h o s e f a m i l i a r w i t h c u r r e n t p r a c t i c e s i n t e x t b o o k a d o p t i o n and
useinelementary and secondaryschools, i t i s clear t h a t a highdegree
of s t a n d a r d i z a t i o na l r e a d y e x i s t s i n educatiorn, It i s i m p o r t a n tt o
admit a t once t h a t a s t i l l g r e a t e rd e g r e e of s t a n d a r d i z a t i o nc o u l d
arise from thewidespreaduse of computers. This i s a p o s s i b i l i t y n o t
t ob ed e n i e d . It í s , however, i n no sense a necessity. It would
technically be possible for a s t a t e department of e d u c a t i o n , f o r example,
to require that a t 1O:lO i n t h e morningeveryfourth-graderbeadding
one-half and o n e - t h i r d , o r e v e r y j u n i o r h i g h s c h o o l be reciting the
amendments t ot h eC o n s t i t u t i o n . The c e n t r a ld a n g e r o f thetechnology
i s that e d i c t s c a n b e e n f o r c e d as w e l l as i s s u e d , and many persons are
r i g h t l y concerned a t t h e s p e c t o r of r i g i d s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n t h a t c o u l d
be imposed.
I think we would a l l a g r e e t h a t t h e e v e r - i n c r e a s i n g use of books
from t h e s i x t e e n t h c e n t u r y t o thepresenthasdeepenedthe varieties of
e d u c a t i o n a l and i n t e l l e c t u a le x p e r i e n c e generally a v a i l a b l e . It i s n o t
d i f f i c u l t , however, t o c o n s t r u c t a c a r i c a t u r e o f p r e s e n t c o n c e r n s i n
terms of t h e h o r r o r s i t might have been claimed would be introduced with
43

15. thewidespreaduse of books. It is e a s y t o v i s u a l i z e a c e r t a i n t y p e of
critic arguing that the highly individualized and e f f e c t i v e q u a l i t i e s
of t h e i n d i v i d u a l t e a c h e r ' s v o i c e c o u l d b e l o s t í n t h e c o m p l e t e l y
standardizeduse of t h e w r i t t e n word and t h e w r i t t e n t e x t . The
i n d i v i d u a l i z a t i o n of comment, t h e a d a p t a t i o n of comment t o t h e e x p r e s s i o n
of i n d i v i d u a l s t u d e n t s and t o t h e i r r e s p o n s i v e n e s s andcomprehension,
would be l o s t i n t h e u s e o f b o o k s i n p l a c e of t e a c h e r s .
NOW w e a l l r e c o g n i z e t h a t t h e r e i s a t r u t h a t t h e h e a r t of t h i s
caricature,but it i s not a truth that argues for the abolition or
suppression of books i n e d u c a t i o n , It a r g u e s r a t h e r f o r a wide v a r i e t y
of educational experiences.
There i s e v e r y r e a s o n t o b e l i e v e t h a t t h e a p p r o p r i a t e d e v e l o p m e n t
i
of C A I programs w i l l enable u s t o t a k e a h i g h l y s i g n i f i c a n t s t e p beyond
t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n of books and t o o f f e r u n p a r a l l e l e d v a r i e t y and depth
of c u r r i c u l u m t o s t u d e n t s of a l l ages,Indeed,theprobleminavoiding
s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n is n o t t h e l i m i t a t i o n s of thetechnology,butour
ignorance of how t o d i v e r s i f y a p p r o a c h e s t o l e a r n i n g i n m e a n i n g f u l and
s i g n i f i c a n t ways,
The b a s i c s c i e n t i f i c d a t a on t h e s e matters are p i t i f u l l y small,
Opinionscan b e found i n e v e r y e d u c a t 2 o n a l g r o u p , b u t t h e y are o p i n i o n s .
Moreover,from an o p e r a t i o n a l s t a n d p o i n t í t i s n o t p o s s i b l e t o f i n d
any wide d i v e r s i t y ofapproaches t o most of t h e s t a n d a r d s u b j e c t s in
e
thecurriculum. D w e want a n a u d i t o r y a p p r o a c h t o t h e l e a r n i n g
o of
language f o r m e s t u d e n t a n d a visualapproachforanother? Do we want
a politically oriented presentation of American h i s t o r y f o r some s t u d e n t s
44

16. and a socially oriented presentation for others?o we think that
D
different cognitive styles can be identified sufficiently deep
a in
way to justify and guide the preparation of vastly different curricula
in thesame general subject matter?
These questions are not in any way bound to computer technology.
of curriculum, the
These are fundamental questions about the science
art of teaching, and the philosophy of education that reach out to
very general questionsof social policy, The computer there to
is
be used in whatever way choose. Uniform standardization of the
we
curriculum will be the end product only areso lacking
we if in
imagination as to achieve nothing else.
Complexity of Instruction
The third claim often heard is that the limitations of the
technology and the problems that must be overcome in using it will
be
lead to the development of curricula that will almost necessarily
simpleminded ín character. There are indeed
some unfortunate
historical examples tn'the literature of curriulum efforts,
especially curriculum efforts a technological setting.
in
of
In the early days programmed instruction, for example,
a
number of texts on elementary mathematics were written by
psychologists or educators who did not have adequate training in
mathematics. The programmed texts were splattered with "howlers" that
received the eager attention the mathematics educators charged with
of
reviewing thebooks. Similar kindsof blunders can occur in the case
45

17. . -
'i,
of computer-assisted instruction, but there is nothing special about
computers, and it hard to see that serious argument can be made
is a
to claim that there is any reason why computer-assisted Instruction will
be worse than other
forms of curriculum.
The world is full of textbooks that are obviously many
in bad
respects. Within mathematics, for example, there are elementary books
that are full mathematical
of mistakes; there areo elementary
als
books that are mathematically correct, but pedagogically bad beyond
belief. No doubt programs exhibiting these o extremes will also
tw be
written for computer-assisted instruction in mathematics,
There are reasons, however, for thinking the situation will be
more self-corrective in the case CAP than in the case ordinary
of of
and
textbook writing. One reason is simply that data can be gathered
authors can be presented in tough-minded fashiona clear
with picture
of the defects of the materials they have written. For example, in
a
program in elementary mathematics a if
particular sequenceof concepts
or problems is missed aby
high percentageof the students encountering
it, the transmission this informationto those who wrote the progrzm
of
ís an obvious signal that changes are needed.
of
Surprising as it may seem, authors textbooks in elementary
mathematics seldom receive such information.They get many good and
penetrating criticisms from teachers and other persons concerned with
curriculum, but they seldom get hard behavioralondata
individual parts
of the text. Similarly, the evaluation that compares given new text
a
with a standard old text by looking at the achievement data for
46
r

18. experimental and control groups i s almostalways f a r too c o a r s e a n
evaluation to provide any focus for revising the p a r t i c u l a r f e a t u r e s
of t h e new t e x t . On t h eo t h e rh a n d ,t h ep r o b l e m s of g a t h e r i n g d e t a i l e d
data about an ordinary textbook are t o o onerous t o b e f e a s i b l e ín
mos t cases.
3
i ' Freedom i n Education
The f o u r t h and f i n a l i s s u e 1 wish t o d i s c u s s is t h e p l a c e of
i n d i v i d u a l i t y and human freedom i n a modern t e c h n o l o g i c a ls o c i e t y . The
c r u d e s t form of opposition to widespread use of technology i n e d u c a t i o n
and i n o t h e r p a r t s of s o c i e t y is t o c l a i m t h a t w e face t h e r e a l danger
of men becoming s l a v e st o machines. This argument i s o r d i n a r i l y made
i n a romantic and naive fashion by those who seem themselves t o have
l i t t l e understanding of s c i e n c e o r technology and how i t i s used i n our
society. The b l a t a n t n a i v e t 6 of some of t h e s eo b j e c t i o n s i s well
illustrated by the story of t h e man who was o b j e c t i n g t o a l l forms of
technology i n our s o c i e t y a n d t h e n i n t e r r u p t e d h i s d i a t r i b e t o say t h a t
he h a s t o r u s h o f € t o telephone about an appointment with his dentist,
No s c i e n t i f i c a l l y i n f o r m e d p e r s o n s e r i o u s l y b e l i e v e s t h a t our
society could survive in anything like i t s p r e s e n t form w i t h o u t t h e
widespreaduse o€ technology. It is ourproblem t ou n d e r s t a n d how t o
usethetechnology and t o b e n e f i t w i s e l y from t h a tu s e .I n d e e d ,t h e
claim about: s l a v e r y i s j u s t t h e o p p o s i t e of t h e t r u e s i t u a t i o n . It i s
o n l yi nt h i sc e n t u r yt h a tw i d e s p r e a d use of s l a v e r y has beenabolished,
and i t may b e c l a i m e d b y h i s t o r i a n s of t h e d i s t a n t f u t u r e that mankind
47

19. could n o t do w i t h o u t s l a v e r y , b e c a u s e j u s t a s human s l a v e s are being
abolished, within a s h o r t time span they w i l l be replaced by machine
s l a v e s whose u s e w i l l n o t v i o l a t e o u r e t h i c a l p r i n c i p l e s andmoral
sensibilities Q
One can indeedimagine a h i s t o r i c a l t e x t of 2500 o r 3000 A . D .
asserting that for a short period in the l a t t e r p a r t of t h e t w e n t i e t h
c e n t u r y t h e r e was l i t t l e s l a v e r y p r e s e n t on e a r t h , b u t t h e n i t was
discovered that machines could be made t h a t c o u l d do a l 1 t h e work of
human slaves, and so i n t h e t w e n t y - f i r s t c e n t u r y t h e l u x u r y o f s l a v e s
and t h e p e r s o r , a l s e r v i c e t h e y a f f o r d e d was b r o u g h t n o t t o t h e
p r i v i l e g e d few as had h i s t o r i c a l l y b e e n t h e ease b e f o r e t h e t w e n t i e t h
century, but as a standard convenience and luxury for a l l people on
earth
I n our judgment, t h e t h r e a t t o human i n d i v i d u a l i t y andfreedom
doesnot come fromtechnology,but Erom a n o t h e r s o u r c e t h a t was well
described by John S t u a r t Ml i n h i s famous e s s a y O L i b e r t y .
i
l n He said,
The g r e a t e s t d i f f i c u l t y t o b e e n c o u n t e r e d d o e s n o t lie
i n t h e a p p r e c i a t i o n of means towardanacknowledgedend,
but in the indifference of p e r s o n s i n g e n e r a l t o t h e
end i t s e l f . If i t were felt t h a t t h e f r e e development
o f i n d i v i d u a l i t y i s one of t h e l e a d i n g e s s e n t i a l s o f
well-being;that i t i s n o t only a co-ordinateelement
w i t h a l l t h a t i s designated by t h e ternns c i v i l i z a t i o n ,
i n s t r u c t i o n ,e d u c a t i o n ,c u l t u r e ,b u t is i t s e l f a
n e c e s s a r y p a r t and condition of a l l t h o s e t h i n g s ;
t h e r e would b e no d a n g e r t h a t l i b e r t y s h o u l d b e u n d e r -
valued,andtheadjustment of theboundariesbetween
i t and s o c i a l c o n t r o l would p r e s e n t n o e x t r a o r d i n a r y
difficulty.
J u s t a s booksEreed serious students from t h e t y r a n n y o f o v e r l y
simple methodsof oral recitation, s o computerscan €ree s t u d e n t s from
48

20. the drudgery of d o i n g e x a c t l y similar t a s k s u n a d j u s t e d a n d u n t a i l o r e d
totheirindividualneeds. As in the case of other p a r t s of o u r s o c i e t y ,
our new andwondrous technology is t h e r e f o r b e n e f i c i a l use. It i s
ourproblem t o l e a r n how t o use i t well.
When a c h i l d of s i x b e g i n s t o l e a r n i n schoolunderthedirection
of a t e a c h e r , h e h a r d l y h a s a concept of a f r e e i n t e l l i g e n c e a b l e t o
r e a c ho b j e c t i v e knowledge of the world, H e dependsheavily upon every
word and g e s t u r e of t h e t e a c h e r t o g u i d e h i s own r e a c t i o n s and
responses. This i n t e l l e c t u a l weaning of c h i l d r e n i s a complicated
process that w e do n o t yet manage orunderstandvery well, There a r e
too many a d u l t s among us who a r e n o t a b l e t o express their own f e e l i n g s
o rt or e a c ht h e i r own independentjudgments. W would c l a i m t h a t t h e
e
wise use of technology and s c i e n c e , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n e d u c a t i o n , p r e s e n t s
a majoropportunityandchallenge. W do n o t want t o claim t h a t w e now
e
know very much about how t o r e a l i z e t h e f u l l p o t e n t i a l of human beings;
b u t w e do n o t d o u b t t h a t our modern instruments can be used t o r e d u c e
thepersonaltyrannyofoneindividualoveranother,andincrease
individual.freedom.
I n t e l l e c t u a l Problems of t h e F u t u r e
Computers That Talk
Let me b r e a k t h i s d i s c u s s i o n o f f u t u r e i n t e l l e c t u a l problems i n t o
four parts that w i l l take us back through some of t h e earlier technologies,
The f i r s t problem i s s i m p l yt h a t of t a l k i n g( o r a ls p e e c h ) . What d o e s - i t
t a k et o get a computer t o t a l k ? The f a c t i s t h a t t h e t e c h n i c a l i s s u e s

21. a
arealreadypretty well í n hand. P e r h a p st h er e a d e rh a ss e e n on
t e l e v i s i o n "The ForbinProject"--a movie about two l a r g e computers í n
the Soviet Union and t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s g e t t i n g t o g e t h e r t o dominate
t h e world. To t h o s e who haveseenthatmovie, l e t m e make a c a s u a l
remark a b o u tt a l k i n g . A t e c h n i c a lc r i t i c i s mo ft h e movie i s t h a t t h e
two very l a r g e and s o p h i s t i c a t e d c o m p u t e r s were conducting only one
conversation a t a time. Already i n ourcomputersystem a t Stanford,
w e have eighteen channels of independent simultaneous talk and t h e
computer t a l k s i n d e p e n d e n t l y and d i f f e r e n t l y t o e i g h t e e n s t u d e n t s at
t h e same time. So you see, we h a v e t h e c a p a c i t y f o r t h e computer t o
talk. What w e need,
however, is b e t t e ri n f o r m a t i o na b o u t what i s t o
be s a i d . For exrmple, when L serve as a t u t o r ,t e a c h i n go n e of you,
o r even when one of you is teaching me, intuitively and n a t u r a l l y w e
follow cues and say things to each other without having an explicit
theory of how w e saywhat w e say. W speak as p a r t of our humanness,
e
i n s t i n c t i v e l y , on t h e b a s i s of o u r p a s t experience. But t o satis-
factorily talk with a computer,weneedan explicít theory of talking.
Computers That L i s t e n
The r e p l a c e m e n t o f t h e w r i t t e n r e c o r d , t h e k i n d o f r e c o r d t h a t
was o b j e c t e d t o i n P l a t o ' s P h a e d r u s , c a n b e a v a i l a b l e t o us i n t h e
talkingcomputer. The o t h e r side of t h a t c o i n which S o c r a t e s a l s o
emphasized, or
shouldhaveemphasized,
concerns listening. It i s a
much more d i f f i c u l t t e c h n i c a l problem, The problem of d e s i g n i n g a
computer t h a t c a n l i s t e n to a student talk i s much h a r d e r t h a n havi-ng

22. a student listen to the computer talk. However, the problem
is
solvable.
The Use of Knowledge
To have an effective computer-based systeminstruction,
of we
must transcend mindless talking and listening and learn to understand
and use a large knowledge base.For example, ifwe were simply to
require information retrieval from a knowledge base, it would be
relatively simple in the near future to put the entire American
Library of Congress in every elementary school, The capacity to store
so
information is increasing rapidly thatwe willbe able to store
much more information than could ever possibly be used.
A different and more difficult ris how to get the student
question
A s we come to understand
to interact with the sizable knowledge base,
how to handle such a knowledge base, the school of the future
computer
should be able to answer any wayward question that the student might
know, once a student uses such a
like to ask. Moreover, as we all
capability, he will have a strong tendency to pursue still further
questions that are more difficult and more idiosyncratic. will, I
It
think, be wonderful to see how children interact with such a system;
in all likelihood,
we will see children give to learning the high degree
of
of concentration and the sustained span attention they now give
to
commercial television.
There is one related point want to emphasize. From the very
I
beginning of school, students learn quickly the of the land" and
"law
51

23. know theyshouldnotaskquestionstheteachercannotanswer.This
t a s k of d i a g n o s i n g t h e l i m i t a t i o n s of t e a c h e r s b e g i n s e a r l y and
continuesthroughcollegeandgraduateschool. So, once w e h a v et h e
capacíty f o r answeringout-of-the-way q u e s t i o n s , i t w i l l bemarvelous
t o see how s t u d e n t s w i l l take advantage of t h e o p p o r t u n l t y and t e s t
t h e i r own c a p a c i t i e s w i t h a r e l e n t l e s s n e s s t h e y d a r e n o t e x h i b i t now.
Need f o r Theories of L e a r n i n g a n d I n s t r u c t i o n
The fourthproblem,and i n many ways t h e l e a s t - d e v e l o p e d f e a t u r e
of t h i s t e c h n o l o g y , i s t h e development of anadequatetheory of
l e a r n i n g and i n s t r u c t i o n , W can make t h e computer t a l k , l i s t e n ,
e and
adequately handle a l a r g e knowledge d a t a b a s e , b u t w e s t i l l need t o
develop
an e x p l i c i tt h e o r y of l e a r n i n g and i n s t r u c t i o n .I nt e a c h i n g
a student, young o r o l d , a g i v e n s u b j e c t m a t t e r o r a givenskill, a
computer-based learning system can keep a record of e v e r y t h i n g t h e
studentdoes. Such a systemcangatheran enormous
amount o€
i n f o r m a t i o na b o u tt h es t u d e n t . The problem í s how t o u s e t h i s
ínformationwisely,skillfully,ande€ficientlytoteachthestudent.
i
This i s something t h a t t h e v e r y b e s t human t u t o r d o e s w e l l , even though
he does not understand a t a l l how hedoes i t , j u s t as h e d o e s n o t
understand how h e t a l k s . None of u s understands how w e t a l k andnone
of u s understands how w e i n t u i t i v e l y i n t e r a c t w i t h someone we are
teaching OR a one-to-one basis. S t i l l , eventhoughourpastandpresent
t h e o r i e s of i n s t r u c t i o n h a v e n o t c u t very deep, í t does n o t mean t h a t
we havenot made
some progress.First, w e a t l e a s t r e c o g n i z et h a t
-
52

24. t h e r e i s a s c i e n t i f i c problem; t h a t a l o n e i s progress. One hundred
f i f t y y e a r s ago t h e r e w a s no e x p l i c i t r e c o g n i t i o n t h a t t h e r e was even
a problem.
There i s not s t a t e d i n t h e e d u c a t i o n l i t e r a t u r e of 150
y e a r s ago any view t h a t i t i s i m p o r t a n t t o u n d e r s t a n d i n d e t a i l t h e
process of l e a r n i n g on the p a r t of t h e s t u d e n t . Only i n t h e t w e n t i e t h
century do w e f i n d any s y s t e m a t i c d a t a o r a n y S y s t e m a t i c t h e o r e t i c a l
i d e a sa b o u tt h ed a t a . What p r e c e d e s t h i s p e r i o d i s romance
and
f a n t a s y u n s u b s t a n t i a t e d by any s o p h i s t i c a t e d r e l a t i o n t o e v i d e n c e .
So a t l e a s t w e c a n s a y t h a t w e have begun t h e t a s k .
Alternative Educational Structures
L e t m g i v e some examplesofchanges
e we can effect in the
s t r u c t u r e of e d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s by u s i n g a p p r o p r i a t e l y t h e new
technologyofcomputersandtelevision.Because of m own s p e c i a l
y
interest in computers,I shall concentrate on computer p o s s i b i l i t i e s ;
but i t s h o u l d b e u n d e r s t a o o d t h a t t e l e v i s i o n would a l s o be a component
fortheproposedchangesinstructure.
High Schools
M f i r s t exampleconcernstheorganization
y of h i g hs c h o o l s . An
American phenomenon,much d i s c u s s e d i n t h e h i s t o r y o f e d u c a t i o n i n t h e
twentiethcentury,hasbeentheintroduction of t h e c o n s o l i d a t e d h í g h
schoolthatbringstogetherstudentsfromsmallschoolsto a centrally
located large school that offers a v a r i e t y of e d u c a t i o n a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s
and r e s o u r c e st ot h es t u d e n t s . The American c o n s o l i d a t e d h i g h schools i s
oneoftheglories of t h e h i s t o r y of education. Today,
however, many
53

25. of us €eel t h a t t h e l a r g e h i g h s c h o o l h a s become oneof t h e most
d - i f f i c y l ti n s t i t u t i o n s t o d e a lw i t h from a s o c i a l s t a n d p o i n t . The mass
aggregation of a d o l e s c e n t s i n o n e s p o t creates an environment that is
on the onehandimpersonal,and on t h e o t h e r p o t e n t i a l l y e x p l o s i v e ,
partlybecause of t h e l a r g e numbers of s t u d e n t s and s u p e r v i s i n g a d u l t s
in close quarters.
The use of our new technology w i l l make p o s s i b l e a n a l t e r n a t i v e
s t r u c t u r et h a t will r e t u r n u s t o t h e small s c h o o l s of t h e p a s t . The
ideal high school of. t h e f u t u r e may c o n s i s t of no more than a hundred
s t u d e n t sa n d ,i n many c a s e s , b e l o c a t e d c l o s e t o s t u d e n t s ' homes; i t
=ay b e a s p e c i a l i z e d s c h o o l , c a t e r i n g t o s t u d e n t s ' p a r t i c u l a r
interests. The v a r i e t y of curriculumandothereducationalresources,
such as l i b r a r i e s , t h a t h a s b e e n s o ímportant a f e a t u r e of t h e
consolidated high school, w i l l be made a v a i l a b l e by computerand
t e l e v i s i o nt e c h n o l o g y . I shouldsay i n t h i sc o n n e c t í o nt h a tt h e
changes that can be broupjhtabout through the use of computers are more
d r a s t i c and more r a d i c a l t h a n t h o s e t h a t c a n b e e f f e c t e d o n l y t h r o u g h
television. The d i f f e r e n c e i s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of a high level of
i n t e r a c t i o n 'between t h e cornputerprogram and t h e s t u d e n t , t h e s o r t of
thing that is not possible with a standard television lecture or
laboratory demonstration.
ElementarySchools
M second
y exampleconcerns a l t e r n a t i v e s t o elementaryschools.
Through most of t h e h i s t o r y of c i v i l i z a t i o n , young c h i l d r e n h a v e been
54

26. taughtprimarily a t home, o f t e n p e r h a p s i n an extended family group.
W now h a v e t h e t e c h n i c a l p o s s i b i l i t y
e of r e t u r n i n g t h e s t u d e n t to
the home o r t o a small neighborhood group. Althoughthese
alternativeshave not y e t b e e n t h o r o u g h l y e x p l o r e d , it is important
t h a t d i s c u s s i o n of t h e i r a v a i l a b i l i t y b e g i n as e a r l y as p o s s i b l e .
A s f a r as I know, t h e new r o m a n t i c s í n e d u c a t i o n h a v e n o t d i s c u s s e d
the radical possibility of d i s s o l v í r g e l e m e n t a r y s c h o o l s e n t i r e l y and
returningthechildtothe home--or t o a neighborhoodgroup of t h r e e
o r f o u r homes--for his education.
In describing this possibility, l e t m e emphasizethat 1 a not
m
m a i n t a i n i n gt h a t i t is n e c e s s a r i l y a wise move, 1 do,however,think
i t i m p o r t a n tt h a tt h i st e c h n i c a lp o s s i b i l i t y i s now a v a i l a b l e . At
t h ev e r y l e a s t , i t s h o u l db ee x p l o r e de x p e r i m e n t a l l y . By p r o p e r use
of c o m p u t e r t e c h n o l o g y , t h e b a s i c s k i l l s of reading,mathematics,and
language arts can e a s i l y b e b r o u g h t t o t h e s t u d e n t i n t h e home o r i n
a c l u s t e r of homes. Most of t h ee l e m e n t a r ys c i e n c ec u r r i c u l u ma l s o
can be handled by c o m p u t e r .O t h e rp a r t s of t h e e l e m e n t a r y s c i e n c e
curriculum, of t h e s o c i a l s t u d i e s program,and much of t h e work i n
a r t and m u s i cc o u l db eh a n d l e db yt e l e v i s i o n . I envisage a s i t u a t i o n
i n which a master t e a c h e r would d i v i d e h i s time among several u n i t s .
The mothers of t h e c h i l d r e n wouldassume responsibilities for super-
v i s i o na n d some would work as t e a c h e r s 'a i d e s . Such anapproach
would b e c o m p l e t e l y n a t u r a l , b e c a u s e of t h e p r o x i m i t y of t h e s c h o o l
t o t h e i r homes. I n many u r b a n s e t t i n g s , €or example, i t would be
n a t u r a lt op l a c e classrooms i na p a r t m e n tc o m p l e x e s .I no t h e rd i s t r i c t s ,
55
I

27. a small one-room b u i l d i n g c o u l d b e added, or it might even be feastble
t o pay a small r e n t t o one of t h e f a m i l i e s f o r t h e u s e o f s p a c e in a
home. The main t h i n g t o a v o i d i s h e a v yc a p i t a le x p e n d i t u r ef o rp h y s i c a l
p l a n t s ; w e have had too much of t h i s i n t h e p a s t .
Higher Education
The t h i r d a l t e r n a t i v e s t r u c t u r e d e a l s w i t h h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n . Here
the possibilities are p e r h a p s t h e easiest t o implementand may b e
r e a l i z e ds o o n e rt h a nt h eo t h e r s . In t h e areas s u r r o u n d i n gS t a n f o r d ,
several community c o l l e g e s are a l r e a d y o f f e r i n g c o u r s e s f o r c r e d i t by
television. A s w e face t h e c o s t s t h r o u g h o u t t h e world of p r o v i d i n g
highereducationforincreasingnumbers,theuseofcomputersand
televisiontoreducecosts and t o d e c e n t r a l i z e t h e e d u c a t i o n a l e f f o r t
seems almost i n e v i t a b l e . One can see t e r m i n a l sa v a i l a b l eí na p a r t m e n t
complexes f o rs t u d e n t s a t t h e community-col2.ege level. A t a later
stage,onecanenvisageterminsls i n plantswhereemployees work f u l l -
time, b u ta l s oa c t i v e l yp u r s u et h e i re d u c a t i o n . I s h o u l dm e n t i o nt h a t
in C a l i f o r n i a , for example, a r e a s o n a b l e p e r c e n t a g e of s t u d e n t s i n t h e
state h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m are employed f u l l - t i m e , s i m u l t a n e o u s l y
w i t ht h e i re m o l l m e n t as s t u d e n t s . The developmentofsuch a delivery
system for higher education w i l l also n a t u r a l l y a n s w e r demands f o r
c o n t i n u i n ge d u c a t i o nf o ra d u l t s . A t a more d i s t a n t d a t e , o n e can
expecttheterminalresourcesdescribed earlier t o b e a v a i l a b l e i n t h e
home f o r t h e t e a c h i n g of a w i d e r a n g e o f s u b j e c t s , f r o m f o r e i g n
languages t o a d v a n c e d t e c h n i c a l c o u r s e s i n s c i e n c e a n d m a t h e m a t i c s .
56

28. I emphasize,however, thattheproblems of i n s t i t u t i o n a l change
of t h e s o r t j u s t d i s c u s s e d are poorlyunderstood.There i s evidence
that universities, for example, are among t h e mostConservative
i n s t i t u t i o n si no u rs o c i e t y . I n any case, t h e r a p i d development of
alternatfve structures for education will b e n e i t h e r s i m p l e nor easy.
O t h e o t h e r hand, t h e w i l l i n g n e s s of community c o l l e g e s , which do
n
i
n o t have a l o n g t r a d i t i o n , t o c o n s i d e r new methodsof instruction
i
!
r;
and new approaches i s encouraging,There are problems of p r e j u d i c e
3
and entrenchment, but there are a l s o i n t e l l e c t u a l problemsofunder-
s t a n d i n gt h ek i n d s of o r g a n i z a t i o n w e want f o r t h e f u t u r e . The
technology affords many p o s s i b i l i t i e s , b u t we have not thought
through which of these possibilities we c o n s i d e r t h e mostadvantageous,
t h e most i n t e r e s t i n g , o r t h e most e x c i t i n g .
The c e n t r a l i d e a I havebeenstressing í s thatthroughcomputers
we have t h e means t o d e v e l o p a l t e r n a t i v e s t r u c t u r e s t h a t will
effectivelydecentralizethepresenteducationalsystem. - T h e i s s u e of
i
d e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n of s e r v i c e s , of places of work, ofalmost a l l aspects
I
of our l i f e i s g r a d u a l l y coming t o t h e f o r e as a c e n t r a l s o c i a l and
p o l i t i c a l problemof t h e l a s t p a r t of t h et w e n t i e t hc e n t u r y . The
issues involved in decentralizing education w i l l be among t h e most
s i g n i f i c a n to ft h e s ep r o b l e m s of d e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n , The problems t h a t
f a c e us are n o t r e a l l y t e c h n o l o g i c a l : t h e y are conceptual,
i n s t i t u t i o n a l , and s o c i a l . I h a v ec e r t a i n l yn o t made anyconcrete
suggestionsfortacklingtheseproblems; a t most, I h a v e t r i e d t o
b r i n g them t o y o u r a t t e n t i o n .