This Digest examines the effective integration of technology into schools and explores the importance of technology to school leaders. It asks why and how administrators should promote technology and asserts that school leaders who implement technology effectively will contribute greatly to education and the economy. It cautions, however, that…

Public discourse on the pedagogical uses of information technology runs the gamut from utopian to apocalyptic. Two ideologies in particular have received much attention. The first, restructuralism, calls for radically restructuring postsecondary institutions from the ground up to respond effectively to social, demographic, and economic changes in…

This digest contains four sections that discuss the following broad principles that offer a framework to teachers for thinking about how technology can support their instruction: (1) learning occurs in context, including ways that technology can facilitate learning by providing real world contexts that engage learners in solving complex problems,…

This digest provides background information and sources that help in understanding the concept of educational technology. Specific answers are provided to the following 12 questions: (1) What is educational technology? (2) What are the roots of educational technology? (3) What is a good source of research findings? (4) What do educational…

This digest reviews some significant research on technology use in the classroom that examines how investment in technology will pay off in terms of student learning, and it indicates the conditions under which technology is most likely to have a positive impact on student learning. First presented are two longitudinal studies on how students…

Improvements in portable computing technology and examples of successful pilot programs using laptop computers and other portables have inspired many K-12 schools to consider laptops for their students. In a study of Anytime Anywhere Learning, commissioned by Microsoft (published as the Rockman Report), five models were identified of laptop use…

This digest in Spanish examines the effective integration of technology into schools and explores the importance of technology to school leaders. It asks why and how should administrators promote technology and asserts that school leaders who implement technology effectively will contribute greatly to education and the economy. It cautions,…

This digest provides background information and sources that help in understanding the concept of educational technology. Specific answers are provided to the following 12 questions: (1) What is educational technology? (2) What are the roots of educational technology? (3) What is a good source of research findings? (4) What do educational…

The Internet is a vast computer network that consists of smaller interconnected computer networks. As K-12 schools connect to the Internet, a new means of communication opens up to educators and students. This digest describes some sample services and resources available to the K-12 community via electronic mail. Information sources covered in…

Thanks to ever-increasing high-level advocacy and the added incentive provided by Goals 2000 legislation, many states have completed or are working on school technology plans. Although technology planning occurs at multiple levels, many principles are identical, and with careful cooperation, facets of a plan at one level will often…

This digest examines the practical significance for rural communities of the emerging national information infrastructure, highlights some potential pitfalls, and draws connections to rural education. During the 1980s, computers and computer networks became increasingly commonplace, and in the early 1990s, the Internet and World Wide Web emerged…

This digest briefly reviews connections among the literature on the adoption of innovations, technology integration, and the value of reflection in encouraging educators to explore the integration of new educational technologies into their current teaching practices. An approach to prompting reflection is described, which uses structured guidance…

Noting that the merging of various types of media with the computer has presented the field of education with a hybrid technology called interactive multimedia (also referred to as hypermedia), this digest begins by defining this technology as "the integration of text, audio, graphics, still image, and moving pictures into a single,…

This digest provides background information and sources that help in understanding the concept of educational technology. Specific answers are provided to the following 12 questions: (1) What is educational technology? (2) What are the roots of educational technology? (3) What is a good source of research findings? (4) What do educational…

To be effective, technology cannot exist in a vacuum, but must become part of the whole educational environment. New measures of evaluation are under development which would help to better define the role of technology in its wider context. This ERIC digest summarizes the observed benefits of technology implementation and addresses the importance…