Ines marquez chisholm

Introduction

American schools are seeing an increase in educational computing and, as a result, a steady decline in the ratio of students to computers (Hayes, 1992). Paralleling the increase in school computers is a geometric increase in minority students. The 1990 census data (Bureau of the Census) show a 37.9% rise in American Indians and Eskimos, a 107.8% increase in Asian and Pacific Islanders, and a 53.0% growth in Hispanics. Furthermore, the majority of recent immigrants come from non-English speaking minority countries (Croninger, 1991). These combined forces - the increase in classroom computers and the increase in non-English speaking minority students - compel the preparation of technologically competent multicultural teachers.

Most children in financially poor schools, many of which have high minority student populations, have limited access to computers due to a lack of physically accessible hardware and a scarcity of good, intellectually challenging software'(Johnson, 1985; Arias, 1990; Cohen, 1988/89; Dunkel, 1990; Gifford, 1991). Furthermore the scarcity of computer proficient teachers aggravates the problem (Gifford, 1991). As Hopkin (1991) argued, “While technologies can act as a catalyst in school reform, they cannot direct change. Change is driven by vision” (p.30). Vision, on the other hand, is driven by knowledge, awareness, expectation, exploration, and reflection.

Unless teachers feel comfortable and capable in using computers and perceive computers as a viable means of instruction, classroom computers will become mere dust collectors rather than versatile, useful teaching and learning resources. Furthermore, educators must recognize that neither computers nor software programs are completely culture-free inasmuch as they reflect the programmer’s beliefs, assumptions, and epistemological mind frame (Bowers, 1988). Consequently, teachers in culturally diverse classrooms need to adapt, combine, and coordinate the student, classroom, and computer cultures.