This website document is concerned with reviewing the current usage of computers in the classroom, giving an overview of the possible uses of computers in the classroom and developing some goals in this area. Each section which looks at current usage examines how current usage can be sustained, improved and made an integral part of education. In some cases, the issues of professional development, assessment, school-community partnerships, and implementing project-based learning are discussed as well.

In one case, grade 4 students who are creating their own web pages are discussed. Their sources of information are from CD-ROMs, the Internet, and printed material in the school library. One important issue raised in this discussion is whether students are able to discriminate between high quality and low quality information sources. However, I would not see the use or non-use of computer-based resources as affecting this concern. This is a perennial problem that is not new to computer-based information sources. This problem has always existed. The content of the media, not the media itself is at the heart of this issue. With the increasing availability of information from the Internet the quality should be there. Information sources may be of high or low quality on the Internet but students will need to be taught to discriminate between the quality of various sources of information regardless of whether that source is computer generated or not. Integrating information from various sources may become more of a challenge for many students, however. With the increasing proliferation of information on the Internet students will have access to much more information in the future than they have had in the past due to the small size of many school libraries. The computer can only help to facilitate in the ability to discriminate between various sources of information by making many more sources available than there have been in the past.

Another issue that is raised in several of the discussions is the need for teachers to become acquainted with various technologies that can be used both inside and outside the classroom. With the rapid increase in new technologies it is becoming difficult for even experts to keep up with what is happening in their fields. For teachers then it is even more difficult to keep up. At the present time it is quite often the case that many teachers did not grow up using computers or any kind of technology in general. The range of technology available to students may be quite challenging to them, although quite often the students are more computer literate than their teachers. This problem may decrease as the present generation of computer savvy students moves on to become teachers themselves, but with the exponential growth of new technologies this may become a perennial problem. This has implications for the idea that education must perforce become a lifelong process. The boundary lines between the roles and identities that distinguish student and teacher will become increasingly blurred.

The effect of using technology in regard to students learning the "basics" of education is raised in this article. This is an issue that must be addressed. It is all well and fine that students learn to use computers but learning how to read and write and do mathematics is still a fundamental requirement. The people who invented all this wonderful technology required these basic skills in order to create it in the first place. In order to sustain all this technology present day students can do no less. Learning how to use computers should not be a substitute for learning how to learn with computers. Computers should not be used to replace traditional learning, they should be used to enhance it. Learning how to manipulate knowledge that others have created is fine but the primary requirement is to learn how to create that knowledge yourself. Without the latter it is somewhat useless to learn the former. Learning only the former is a dead end. All this new technology is creating a demand for people with an ability to create new technology. This requires the basic skills already mentioned. Learning to use computers in a way that enhances traditional learning will become increasingly necessary in order to survive in a technological world. With the information explosion of the 20th century it is becoming more and more of an imperative that students be able to go beyond the skills of their parents' generation. In order to build upon what has already been built then students must have the basic knowledge of their parents' generation and more. Problem solving skills are not the only requirement for this. Content and problem solving skills go hand in hand. One without the other is inadequate for a technological age.

With the proliferation of technology students nowadays are able to perform functions that previously only experts could perform, such as the simulation of the growth of cities. Students can "construct" simulated cites. The article asks how teachers can assess what is being learned in such a scenario and what educational value it has. How teachers can integrate such activities into the classroom is a challenge. There must be some way of measuring what students are learning if this is to be called education.

The development of reading and writing, the development of movable type and the merger of print, telecommunications, and computers are three different historical developments that are seen as pivotal historical changes in this article. The effects of this latest development are of great concern to educators. How these latest developments are to be implemented in the classroom must be determined. The storage, movement, and retrieval of information have been greatly enhanced by technology and processing information and solving problems has been aided greatly by computers. Productivity is enhanced.

Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) is discussed in this article. It includes Computer-Assisted Learning (CAL), distance education, electronic access to information, electronic aids to student and teacher interactivity, and productivity tools with built-in "help" features. All these facilitate more convenience and opportunities in student learning. This is contributing to the growth of informal education so that the role of teachers and of formal education will have to change. However, these developments do not negate the need for the human contact between teachers and students and cannot replace the versatility of teachers. There is also the need for social development that only a human teacher can provide.

Twelve goals for technology education are listed in this article, which are grouped into three categories: Functional Technology Literacy, Independent Lifelong Learning, and Capacity Building. Some of these goals include computer literacy at the basic and intermediate level, computer-as-tool in curriculum content, information technology courses, distance education, computer-assisted learning (CAL), assessment, staff development and support, facilities, long-term commitment, and community-wide commitment. But the underlying goals of education have not changed. Academic success is still a priority, along with preparation of students for adult responsibilities together with preparation of students for life in a rapidly changing Information and Communications Age.

For a related article see Using Technology to Support Education Reform at the website of the Capital Region Information Service of New York.