Frederick Bennett

About the author: Frederick Bennett is a retired psychologist and the author of Computers as Tutors: Solving the Crisis in Education.

On a national level, computer-assisted education has failed to produce substantial improvements in students' academic performance —but this is because schools have not allowed students to interact with computers effectively. The power of computers to educate lies in their interactivity and ability to absorb students' attention. But in traditional classrooms, teachers and other students make direct student-computer interaction impossible. In effective computerized education, computers would serve as tutors that teach students directly. Teachers would not become obsolete, but the teacher's role would shift from instructor to "leader teacher" who would be responsible for leading children as they pursue computer-based education.

In a piece published in February...