I see no advantage whatsoever to the graphical user interface
...Bill Gates, 1981
The graphical user interface was first developed by Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center. After a
visit to this lab, Steve Jobs, the chairman of Apple Computers, bought the idea and named it
Macintosh. "For many, this event has been heralded as the most significant conceptual
breakthrough in the history of PCs" (Jukes & McCain, 1997). Eventually, even the recalcitrant Bill
Gates adopted the graphical interface into his Windows operating system.
During the 1990s, the graphical interface environment has allowed the general public to use
computers in a variety of ways never imagined possible. The skills in operating a computer have
become much like those necessary to play a video game -- point there, click the button, and
something happens! The generation of video game players, our youth, effectively has become the
best audience for computers, yet educators resist using them.
Since the large-scale induction of computers into America's schools in the early 1980s, there has
been reluctance of educators to implement them. Teachers can hardly be blamed for this
reluctance. A major barrier has been a lack of a universal agreement on how teachers should be
prepared to use the technology (Willis & Mehlinger, 1996). This is not cause to write off the
personal computer for classroom use. In reference to preparing pre- and in-service teachers, Bull
and Cooper (1997) believe, "it is important to be realistic about the time frame that will be
required to accomplish this [integration of technology] in the depth that may be eventually
desired" (pg. 101). In fact, the last 15 to 20 years might be viewed more as a time of courtship
between computers and K-12 educators. Clearly, in order for educators to adopt current
technologies an emphasis must be placed on adequately preparing pre- and in-service teachers.
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