Fool's gold or hidden treasure: Are computers stifling creativity?

Abstract

A description of a recent report issued by the US-based Alliance for Childhood indicates the main criticisms made of the use of ICT in primary education. These criticisms are considered and the arguments developed in the report are examined. The effect of the report's publication is also discussed, as is the media response in the US and beyond. As a partial answer to the report's claims regarding creativity and computers, two practitioners provide case study evidence of the ways in which ICT has been used to develop innovative classroom activities. The paper concludes with a call for enlightened discourse in this area rather than polemical stance-taking.