The computer can be used in schools to assist instruction and as the object of computer literacy education. Strategies for introducing computers into the schools of developing countries are presented. (AM)

By the early nineties a Chilean network on computers and education for public schools had emerged. There were both high expectancies that technology could revolutionize education as well as divergent voices that doubted the real impact of technology on learning. This paper presents an evaluation of the Enlaces network, a national Information and…

This paper outlines and discusses four rationales for using computers in schools: (1) the social rationale, which states that it is necessary for children to become aware and unafraid of computers in order to prepare for life and work in an industrial society; (2) the vocational rationale, which states that children should learn computer…

Explores the wide range of issues involved in the introduction of computers into Third World schools, and cautions Third World educators that it is their responsibility to temper their educational planning in the area of computers with some exploration of the detrimental side effects of improper implementation. Seventeen references are included.…

This paper is based on a 1988-89 international cooperative study funded by the Harold Macmillan Trust. Teachers and officials in several African, Asian and Arabic-speaking countries worked with the authors in describing and evaluating how computers arrived in their schools and what the machines are used for. Considerable data on national policy…

Discussion of implementation plans for the introduction of microcomputers into secondary schools in Bahrain highlights the establishment of training programs for teachers, selection of appropriate hardware, and development of an Arabic Standard for software design. A brief overview of the structure of Bahrain's school system is given. (Author/LRW)

The University of Swaziland was contacted to assist in evaluating the effectiveness of a computer training program at Waterford Kamhlaba, a secondary school in Swaziland. Two other secondary schools were selected as controls, and the evaluation of several variables was carried out with each of the schools' Form 1 students: (1) ideational fluency…

This report describes a project in Malaysia which provided three pilot courses using computer-assisted instruction (CAI) for both inservice and preservice teachers. Two courses for secondary teachers introduced the use of CAI in the secondary classroom and Logo for secondary mathematics, and primary teachers were given an introduction to the use…

Presents a case study of a "hands-on" computing course taught both on- and off-campus at the University of the South Pacific. Topics discussed include the use of microcomputers in developing countries; course development; written and audiovisual materials; and the use of satellite tutorials and local tutors. (LRW)

Discussion of computers and new information technology in developing countries focuses on China. Highlights include information technology as a tool for national development or as a tool for dependency; Chinese informatics policy; computers in Chinese secondary education; the development of educational software; teacher training; and computer…

To prepare students for the Information Age, many developing nations provide courses in computer literacy. While computers can teach more efficiently and effectively than traditional methodologies, developing nations need to be aware of the effect of computer literacy on cultural awareness and cultural literacy. Computers, as language-based…

Describes 12 constraints imposed by culture on educational software portability. Nielsen's seven-level virtual protocol model of human-computer interaction is discussed as a framework for considering the constraints, a hypothetical example of adapting software for Mexico is included, and suggestions for overcoming constraints and making software…

Arguing that computers in education are necessary to prepare children to live in a future computerized society, this report examines the issues associated with computers in education in developing countries. The first of three parts provides a brief overview of how and why computers are used in education in developed countries; describes…

Discussion of the use of computers in classrooms in Third World countries focuses on a survey of secondary school students in Lagos (Nigeria) that examined pupils' conception of a computer and their perceptions of the role and sociocultural consequences of computers in the classroom. (18 references) (LRW)

This overview of the use of computers in education begins by tracing the history of the development of computer programs for instruction in three developed countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. Significant research and programs, general trends, the current situation, plans, and problems in each of the countries are…