This paper is a discussion of the impact of computers in the classroom. Computers have been slow to become part of American public schools, becoming common only after they had become an integral part of the business world and, later, the home market. However, they are now so widely accepted that they are an important factor in all educational plans for the new millennium. They provide an invaluable and sophisticated tool for teaching, but they must be used effectively, by teachers trained in computer technology and by students skilled in taking full advantage of their diverse benefits. They can give classrooms access to distant sources of information, allow students to learn at their own pace, and permit teachers to connect curricula in unique and creative ways. They can also limit educational opportunities, perpetuate misinformation, and isolate their users. Computers are an essential part of the classroom of the 21st century; they must be used well in order to assure that their impact is positive.
The first machines that were true programmable computers appeared in the 1940s. Designed for military applications, they were enormous, expensive machines, capable of performing very simple mathematical functions. As technology was refined, computers began to have business applications; eventually, they became affordable enough for large corporations to consider using them to analyze production data, process payroll, and handle other jobs requiring the manipulation of numbers.
With the development of word processing technology, computers began to add a diversity of functions. Microprocessor technology eventually allowed manufacturers to begin the create smaller, cheaper machines, and the development of software and uniform operating systems started to turn computers into useful tools for smaller businesses and the home market. By the mid-1970s, personal computers had begun to establish a foothold in the marketplace and in...