Through computer networks called integrated learning systems, teachers can prescribe individual learning paths for students. Such systems offer thousands of lessons covering the same basic skills now taught in a lock-step way through textbooks to groups of students with incredibly different backgrounds, interests, and motivation. With an integrated learning system, students can move at an appropriate pace in a nonthreatening environment, developing a solid foundation of basic skills rather than the shaky foundation a calendar-based progression often creates. Graduates must be proficient at accessing, evaluating, and communicating information . Online tools and resources allow students to efficiently gather and evaluate information, then communicate their thoughts and findings.
Technology can foster an increase in the quantity and quality of students' thinking and writing .
Perhaps one of the best documented successes with computers in education is in developing students' writing. Several features of word processors seem to reduce the phobia often associated with writing. Writing on the computer has a temporary feel, making it easier to take creative and grammatical risks. Editing and revising can occur almost as quickly as one thinks, and finished products printed from a word processor have a professional quality that generates a sense of accomplishment. Graduates must solve complex problems .