In this article, the author has advanced the view that the world is currently on the threshold of a new status quo--the hegemony of the image. Yet, this seems a mixed blessing, for people, and especially young people, are not equipped with the necessary critical viewing and thinking skills to survive it. Nevertheless, this unfortunate situation…

In Fall 2000, when "Theory and Research in Social Education" (TRSE) first dedicated an issue to technologies in social studies education, Neil Postman contributed a View Point piece to this issue. Postman, who died in 2003, was an interesting choice because he was an outspoken critic of educational technology who believed that, as he said at the…

Satirical/fictional account of one superintendent's obsessions with high technology, computers, and computer literacy. (JBM)

Humorous fantasy of things that might go wrong when a school district purchases a "Lemon" computer. (MLF)

Stresses the need for administrators and teachers to be able to use computers as tools for the enrichment of their personal and professional lives. This requires experience and constant effort to stay in touch with the world of computers. (MLF)

Discusses various definitions of computer literacy, including those from the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium and LOGO codeveloper Daniel Watt. Notes a disagreement over whether computer literacy includes programing knowledge. Mentions the problem of "information literacy" (involving data banks) and lists books, magazines, and…

Explains why principals must be knowledgeable about microcomputers and describes a workshop put on at the University of Mississippi aimed at increasing "microliteracy." (Author/JM)

This essay discusses the human, social, and political problems associated with the introduction of new information technologies and computer education into existing schools and indicates 10 choices which face educational policy-makers. Teacher training, availability of software, necessary hardware, the role of higher education, and national policy…

Suggests computer education activities that can be developed with a single computer, leadership of one staff member, plus one paraprofessional and a core group of interested students. Argues that computer literacy is a societal necessity and a reasonable possibility for even small institutions with limited budgets. (DMM)

Educators can use different metaphors to achieve an initial understanding of computers: the computer-as-person, tool, brain, map, vitamin, palette, educator, and catalyst. We should not ask what computers can do, but rather, what do we want computers to do? (KC)

Warns that the failure of public schools to provide extensive technological training and to restructure curriculum in order to achieve technological relevance may result in their "environmental collapse"--that is, their abandonment by dissatisfied constituents and clients for an economically attractive alternative. (Author/WD)

Discusses the role of computers in today's world and the construction of computer use attitudes, such as gender gaps. Suggests how schools might close the gaps. Includes a brief explanation about how facility with computers is important for women in their efforts to gain equitable treatment in all aspects of their lives. (PA)

Since LOGO was introduced at a 1981 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference, this computer language has spread through the schools and spawned Young People's LOGO Association groups throughout the United States and Canada. Teaching LOGO like other languages might alienate youngsters already at home with computer technology. (MLH)

Argues that most school systems in the United States fit into one of the five evolutionary stages of computer use: initial experimentation, state legislative involvement, search for software, initial computer integration, and full integration. These stages are described and tips on how to choose the best computer software are given. (MBR)

Five curricular options which can be adopted for special education teacher training programs are discussed and evaluated as possible alternatives for addressing the computer literacy needs of special educators. (JW)