Raymond Callahan’s lively study exposes the alarming lengths to which school administrators went, particularly in the period from 1910 to 1930, in sacrificing educational goals to the demands of business procedures. The author was responding to the post-industrial business model that sought efficiencies in work processes for greater costs savings and higher profits. I was surprised to unearth a book on this topic, Education and the Cult of Efficiency, by Raymond E. “ The Internet is a machine designed for the efficient, automated collection, transmission, and manipulation of information, and its legions of programmers are Internet on finding the “one best way”- the perfect algorithm-to carry out the mental movements of what we’ve come to describe as knowledge work” (p 150)Īnd is this not what we have been hearing in the last couple of years in education circles, how technological advancements can increase efficiencies in education? Efficiency is often cited in the same context as effectiveness, yet more often in terms of cost savings. Frequently mentioned throughout the book via the studies quoted, is the idea that the Internet increases efficiency-efficiency usually in the context of work, doing more with less, or in terms of finding information quickly and accurately. Though the point is moot, what I found worthy of consideration while reading Carr’s book from an education standpoint is the concept of ‘efficiency’. Granted the Internet is the vehicle, the catalyst to the Information Age, which impacts society, culture and global economies significantly. Our behaviours as a society have deeply changed due to engagement with digital media, and it’s this behaviour research suggests, that is responsible for changing our brains. Carr describes his own challenges with disconnecting with Internet-enabled devices and social media, which is more of a reflection of our current culture-the constant and often frenetic connectivity to the Internet via our mobile devices. A more appropriate title might be The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to our Culture. Though the book’s title implies that the Internet is not good for our brains, makes us shallow, no longer capable of deep and thoughtful thinking and learning, Carr fails to provide convincing evidence that this is indeed the case. Carr is not a proponent of the Internet as one might guess from his article and from the title of his most recent book The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brain (2010).
Author Nicolas Carr made a name for himself with his article featured in the Atlantic “ Is Google making us Stupid” in 2008.
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