The computer is also helping the disabled learn more effectively and quickly, with programs specifically developed for the physically, visual and hearing impaired being acquired by school systems in addition to assistive devices for classroom use as directional microphones.
E-mail is almost as natural as breathing today. In the next three to five years, students will team together via desktop conferencing and groupware. Some distance learning language or other special instructional classes will also be viewed over the web and projected onto classroom TV monitors or individual laptops. Students are already teleconferencing real-time worldwide through the Internet with other classrooms, in addition to professionals and specialists in specific areas.
Another decade or so in the future, students will use information technology as learning devices through infrastructures such as knowledge webs, virtual communities, and shared synthetic environments with sensory immersion. The Internet will be used as a tutoring tool, online courses and virtual reality simulations. While on school trips students' PDAs will access the Internet and school servers through wireless technology.
As always, however, the use of information technology will only be as productive and useful as it is effectively incorporated into the curricula. It will be a never-ending process of learning for teachers as myself to make sure...
Universities will need to thoroughly incorporate educational technology courses into the education degree curricula and schools will need on-going in-service methods for teachers to share ideas, acquire new information and expand their competencies.
Information Technology tools already in a large number of U.S. schools http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/it810/itaim.htm
Category of Tool
Examples
Hardware Devices faxes, voice/fax/data modems electronic day books video recorders, tape-recorders
MIDI hardware liquid crystal display panels digital scanners, laser printers digital cameras
Software and Computer Accessories computer-assisted-instruction (CAI software) simulations
CD-ROMs laserdiscs office and multimedia productivity tools
World Wide Web browsers hypertext authoring tools programming languages multimedia software and tools
Communications Environments
Macintosh, OS/2, Windows, Unix, DOS
World Wide Web
Gopher, Veronica, Archie, file transfer protocol (FTP)sites
Wide Area Information Servers (WAIS)
Internet service providers local area network wide area network infrared communications video conferencing
