Bree Smyth

Sept. 25, 2003

SLM 521 MC

Silicon Snake Oil

• Schools, libraries, and even businesses are being sold down the river, wasting money on ineffective and counterproductive computing systems.

I agree that schools, libraries, and businesses are spending a lot of money buying computer systems that are used for maybe ten years, and then have to be replaced. I do not think that they are “wasting money” on these computers; I think they are investing their money to better serve their target population. Schools are teaching better and more information is being taught, libraries are helping people gather information and books more efficiently and quickly, and businesses are better able to serve their customers and clients.

• Information available over the Internet is often stale, incomplete, misleading, unreviewed, or simply wrong.

Again, I agree that SOME information is wrong or misleading, but the majority of the information out there seems to be correct. As teachers, we teach our students before they get on the Internet to use their best judgment and decide whether information is reliable. Students are now capable to check sources, compare information, and make informed decisions about information they get over the Internet.

• E-mail is clumsy, inefficient, and impersonal. It appears to be free, yet is actually quite expensive, and can be much slower than ordinary postal mail.

Yes, E-mail can be impersonal. More often, it is personal, allowing people to write things they may never have been able to say face to face. E-mail itself is free, consumers are simply paying to connect and use the Internet. I find that I, as a teacher, can read, think about, and respond to a parent or co-worker in minutes, where it may have taken a day or two to actually reach that person over the phone, and often longer with snail mail.

• Face to face meetings are far more meaningful -- and valuable -- than disembodied network interactions.

Face to face meetings are still valuable, but often more business can be accomplished over the Internet in half the time. In teaching, I would not like to teach students (elementary) with out being face to face, but I can quickly email a parent to get a problem resolved with less hassle and stress on both parties. I can gather information for lesson plans, order supplies, and write report card comments faster, giving me more time to devote to the face to face meetings that are important.

• The Internet is a poor place for commerce ... it's missing one critical ingredient. Hint: digital cash won't solve this problem!

A lot of people do business over the Internet, and it is now as safe as ever. We teach students not to give out personal information over the Internet, and we include not giving out a parent’s credit card number or other financial information. Students are aware that they can purchase something on the computer more quickly then at a regular store, yet they would always choose to go to an actual toy store over viewing one over the Internet. Students are smart; they know when things can be purchased over the Internet and when it would be more beneficial (and fun!) to go to a regular store.