Technical Research Report - August 1995 1. Introduction Computing power has become more available and affordable than ever before.
Satellite transmission can beam instructional material to sites thousands of miles away.
Tools to support computer applications make it possible for school children to do everything from communicating with their counterparts on the other side of the world to building their own curriculum materials in hypermedia formats to collecting and analyzing data much as practicing scientists would. Software for computer-supported collaborative work enables students and researchers thousands of miles apart to view and manipulate the same data sets simultaneously. Having witnessed technology's transformation of the workplace, the home, and, indeed, most of our communications and commercial activities, many are looking for comparable changes within schools. During this era of widespread education reform activity, it is not surprising that educators, policy-makers, and business and other community groups are looking to technology as a tool for reshaping and improving education. As a counterpoint, there are those who argue that multimedia and the information superhighway are simply the latest in a long line of innovations that have been touted naively as the instrument for transforming schools.