In this age of information and technology, educational institutions not just impart knowledge to individuals, but strive to change them into lifelong learners. ICT challenges the traditional method of teaching and learning through its potential as a source of knowledge. Like other developing countries of the world, a computer revolution has taken…

In this article, the authors write about the myth of the "silver surfers"--those third-age learners adept at using the internet and other technologies for a mixture of formal and informal learning episodes. The notion of the silver surfer has endured since the latter half of the 1990s. It is sustained by the annual Silver Surfer week, media…

This paper describes the findings of an OECD project examining ICT impact measurement and analyses based on official statistics. Both economic and social impacts are covered and some results are presented. It attempts to place ICT impacts measurement into an Information Society conceptual framework, provides some suggestions for standardising…

One of three publications of the Research on Equitable Access to Technology (REAT) project, this practitioner's handbook is designed to assist educators in the design and implementation of computer instruction programs for underserved groups of students, including low-income, minority, low-achieving, limited-English speaking, female, and rural…

If computers were used ideally in education, each student would have enough computer time, each computer enough student time, and computer-based activities would be chosen well. The move towards using microcomputers in the schools has less to do with any clear and demonstrable instructional advantage of using them, and more to do with general…

The new possibilities for self-fulfillment while communicating in new and more immediate ways with a growing and changing world that have been opened up by computers should be offered to all young people, and most states have launched campaigns to teach computer literacy. As we implement state-mandated computer literacy curricula, however, we need…

Focusing on use of the computer as an object of instruction, this paper provides a rationale for teaching computer literacy and explores a variety of definitions for the term. Also discussed are various curriculum approaches that are being developed to teach computer literacy content, which include teaching the content in a separate course and the…

Discusses rapid changes in use of computers and related technologies in colleges and universities; the impact of current inequities in precollege access and use of computers experienced by African-American, Hispanic, and American Indian students; and strategies and recommendations to enhance the computer competence of minority students in colleges…

While institutions of higher education are often at the forefront in technology conception and design, they often lag behind in its utilization. Inequities in availability of sophisticated technology at higher education institutions raise the question of whether the "haves" are doing a better job of educating students than the "have…

Although computer use in a variety of educational environments has grown tremendously in the past five years, issues of who uses the computer and how they use it are arising. Preliminary research indicates that computer access is related to both socio-economic status (SES) and sex, with male students from wealthier school districts being most apt…

Discusses worldwide inequities in computer education based on gender, socioeconomic level, country of residence, and specific school policies, and their resultant consequences. Concerns about these inequities are formulated and recommendations for reducing the scale of the problem are made. (Author/MBR)

Discusses the need for computer equity and equal access to computers for all students in public schools. Measures to overcome inequities are suggested. (MH)

This examination of important trends in the field of computing and education identifies and discusses four key computer literacy goals for educators as well as obstacles facing educators concerned with computer literacy. Nine references are listed. (Author/MBR)

This paper looks at some of the characteristics of the information society, assesses its implications for government policies on education, and highlights certain challenges and opportunities for education. Four questions are raised and discussed: (1) whether the role and general goals of education should be adapted to meet the challenge of the…

Based on the fact that the individual human mind is limited, conceptual frameworks and innovative systems in support of social interaction are a necessity rather than a luxury for the future information society. Conceptual frameworks need to be grounded in distributed cognition. Because "a group has no head," collaboratively constructed…