That is, faculty should employ educational technologies only when they will enhance student learning. Research indicates clearly that students learn best when they interactively engage with the materials that they are studying. Therefore, the primary justification for the use of technology in instruction should be to enhance learner interactivity. Instructional technology can enable learners to encounter experiences that would otherwise be too expensive, too dangerous, or simply unavailable. For example, learners can access materials via multimedia resources, for example special art collections, that would be too expensive to bring to the University or to visit.
Learners can simulate otherwise dangerous chemical experiments to avoid potential hazards.
Instructional technology can extend the learners' reach, allowing access to and experience with materials not otherwise available, for example remote databases and information prepublished on the Internet many months before it becomes available in print. The use of these discipline-based computer materials can demonstrate to students the complexity and depth of certain subjects, such as those within the humanities, where a student can experience the many different resources that can be brought to bear on the analysis of a particular text. In addition, the use of well-designed instructional computing materials often has the concomitant benefit of providing students with the opportunity to learn to use computers in a practical manner in their disciplines, thereby helping them to learn computing skills that are becoming increasingly essential in their fields. Several thousand studies have been performed comparing computer-supported forms of instruction with more traditional instruction in various disciplines. 1 Implementing instructional computing The instructional process is extremely complex, requiring considerable expertise, time, and effort to adapt existing materials or to develop new materials.