Those hunks of silicon, circuits, plastic and wire that we

          call computers are rapidly enveloping all facets of American

          society.  The computer industry is exploding at such a rate that

          we are unable to produce enough computer scientists and

          programmers to keep up with demand.  "This year alone (1984),

          says the American Electronics Association, there will be nearly

          45,000 openings for computer scientists and electrical engineers,

                                                               1
          and only 14,400 graduates at the bachelor's level..."   The

          computer's sphere of influence is filtering down from industry

          and into our schools and homes; specifically, children are

          greatly exposed to computers today, whereas a few years ago,

          exposure was negligible.  This paper intends to examine the

          benefits and disadvantages of computer use by children and its

          effects on education and emotional and intellectual development.










          ----------

          1. Kindel, Stephen,  et al.  "Hello, Mr. Chips," Forbes, 4/23/84,
                               __ __                       ______
          page 132.



                                        - 1 -

















               There are many benefits that arise from childhood exposure

          to computers.  These benefits are especially enhanced if exposure

          commences at an early age.  Sara Kiesler, a professor of social

          psychology, at Carnegie-Mellon University has found that:

               Children who are exposed to computers early on are most
               likely to develop 'computer efficacy,' learn
               programming and develop the sense of mastery that will
                                                                    2
               encourage them to tackle more complex computer tasks.


          Thus, benefits accrue easily if exposure begins early; computer

          use becomes more natural, which allows the child to graduate onto

          more difficult tasks.  One of these benefits is the expanded

          abilitiy to perform abstract processes.  First, there is the

          concept of cognitive development--recognizing how things work

          through the exploring of the environment.  Psychologist Jean

          Piaget sees an important part of child development as examining

          their environment through playing: "...Piaget saw play as a

          spontaneous form of research.  According to him, children are

          natural epistemologists, continually formulating hypotheses about

          how the world works and revising them when they are proved




          ----------

          2. Kiesler, Sara.  "Second Class Citizens?"  Psychology Today,
                                                       __________ _____
          March 1983, page 242.



                                        - 2 -










                 3
          false."   This is an important part in the learning process:

          because computers posess such a wealth of information and the

          opportunity to examine things, Piagetians feel computers

          facilitate this segment of development.  "...Modern Piagetians

          believe that computers allow children to conduct their research

          about the world on a scale never before possible in a sandbox or

                        4
          a playground."   Second, computer use can increase the level of a

          child's creativity.  This is achieved by several methods, one of

          which is where the student is given a passage, the student reads

          the passage, and the computer asks if the student has found any

          words that he did not understand.  The computer defines the word

          and asks the student to create new sentences with this recent

                                     5
          increase to his vocabulary.   "[This illustration] represents a

          typical format in CAI that contributes to a creative

          environment.  It is especially motivational in that the feedback

          is related directly to the student's responses....The progam

          utilizes the student's responses to provoke further thinking for