Bilingual Technology Equalizes Opportunities in Elementary Classrooms.

Educational technology is a significant resource for meaningful, active, sensory, and relevant instruction for limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in the elementary grades, particularly those students who are educationally disadvantaged. It is suitable for bridging the instructional gap in bilingual education so these children can have the same educational opportunities as their English-speaking peers and suffer less the effects of cultural and social segregation. Computer software, compact disk, CD-ROM, and videodisk technology provide and store large quantities of subject matter, allow individualization of instruction and instructional materials, permit children to learn at their own speed, and are motivating and non-threatening. These characteristics are useful in instruction in English as a second language, in both one-way and two-way bilingual education, for attractive graphics to involve all students, and even to promote parent involvement. To maximize the potential of these technologies, administrators and teachers need training in effective educational applications, particularly in the classroom, and appropriate and pedagogically sound materials. (MSE)