Students expect technology to be available and to work. While it is still a bit of a struggle for adults to integrate technology into curriculum, to students, failure to make use of technology calls into question the relevance of a particular course or at least the currency of what they are learning. This still seems to support the idea that technology is mainly a high-quality tool. Yet simply placing tools in a classroom for students to use without due consideration of what instructional outcomes are expected does not serve teachers or students well. They typically occur distributed throughout the environment and social system in which we operate.
Technology seems ideally suited for providing access to resources that promote intelligent behavior.
It can bring information to users, make powerful thinking tools readily available, and help people to think in different ways. Teachers already choose software based on such considerations, but certainly we can be even more thoughtful about how we build the educational technology environment. As educators, we should be carefully planning the educational technology environment and targeting technology use to learning expectations. Sure, technology is a tool, but now it is time to customize that tool by building networks and resources to achieve specific ends. For example, while a writing class needs word processing instruments, a graphics and design class will need large monitors and a high-quality color printer, and a math class might want graphing calculators connected to a projection device.