FREEMAN also noted the obvious fear of the computer, which constitutes a
difficulty in using an electronic resource. Though students in general
did not suffer from this anxiety, several older students feared that they
were computer-illiterate, an assumption that became self-fulfilling when
they searched for something but failed to find it. FREEMAN said she
believed that some teachers also fear computer resources, because they
believe they lack complete control. FREEMAN related the example of
teachers shooing away students because it was not their time to use the
system. This was a case in which the situation had to be extremely
structured so that the teachers would not feel that they had lost their
grasp on what the system contained.
A final question raised by FREEMAN concerned access and availability of
the system. She noted the occasional existence of a gap in communication
between school librarians and teachers. Often AM sits in a school
library and the librarian is the person responsible for monitoring the
system. Teachers do not always take into their world new library
resources about which the librarian is excited. Indeed, at the sites
where AM had been used most effectively within a library, the librarian
was required to go to specific teachers and instruct them in its use. As
a result, several AM sites will have in-service sessions over a summer,
in the hope that perhaps, with a more individualized link, teachers will
be more likely to use the resource.
A related issue in the school context concerned the number of
workstations available at any one location. Centralization of equipment
at the district level, with teachers invited to download things and walk
away with them, proved unsuccessful because the hours these offices were
open were also school hours.
Another issue was hardware. As VECCIA observed, a range of sites exists,
some technologically advanced and others essentially acquiring their
first computer for the primary purpose of using it in conjunction with
AM's testing. Users at technologically sophisticated sites want even
more sophisticated hardware, so that they can perform even more
sophisticated tasks with the materials in AM. But once they acquire a
newer piece of hardware, they must learn how to use that also; at an
unsophisticated site it takes an extremely long time simply to become
accustomed to the computer, not to mention the program offered with the
computer. All of these small issues raise one large question, namely,
are systems like AM truly rewarding in a school environment, or do they
simply act as innovative toys that do little more than spark interest?
FREEMAN contended that the evaluation project has revealed several strengths
that were gained through the use of archival resources in schools, including:
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