Often someone asks me to explain why, in spite of these unpleasant conditions, institutions and individuals should make increasing commitments to improving teaching and learning with technology. However, I hope the following list justifies my continuing optimism and enthusiasm more fully. The last items on this list may be the most important. If you have other good reasons, I'll extend this list. Difficult or Impossible Access Telecommunications can provide access to instruction that would otherwise be unavailable due to learners' disabilities, inconvenient location, or schedule restrictions.
Teachers can more reasonably demand higher quality results.
The exploding mess of information resources requires more sophisticated skills for finding, selecting, manipulating, modifying, and distributing information. Career Necessity Employers expect employees to demonstrate comfort, confidence, and mastery of basic skills related to the use of computers and telecommunications options. While many students can acquire some of that self-assurance and competence independently, many cannot. They need access to the technology and training. Competition Institutional ability to compete for students, faculty, and grants is dependent to some degree on the apparent level of educational use of information technology.