Technology in Public Elementary and Secondary Education; A Policy Analysis Perspective.

Analysis of the use of educational technology in public education reveals the following. First, technology is generally an added-on, teacher-dependent tool, although there is a trend to student-focused, individualized uses. Second, technology does not lead to increased learning, although it can offer advantages such as time savings and curricular enrichment. Third, educational technology is expensive and as long as student time in school is fixed independent of learning, less capital intensive approaches will be more cost effective. Finally, the activities of the Federal agencies are focused upon the newer technologies such as educational television, simulations, computer-assisted instruction and multimedia systems. Thus, it is evident that technology is not about to revolutionize education by radically lowering costs or increasing instructional effectiveness. There is a need for both the coordination of Federal activities in the area of educational technology and for greater dissemination of information about successful implementations. Finally, educational technology's hardware needs to be standardized and more attention should be paid to the use of technology for special applications and with special populations, rather than as a substitute for conventional instruction. (Author/PB)