Politicians, managers, and the general community are showing more worry than ever before about the education systems in the United States. Ever since A Nation at Risk warned about the wearing down of our educational standards, stating that it "threatens our very future as a Nation and a people", there has been an abundance of efforts aimed at improving our educational system. In the 1980's, most reform efforts were intended to raise course requirements and scores on standardized tests. Reviewers complained that those efforts were "quantitative" instead of "qualitative"; and resulted in more classes with complex names, with little change in instruction and content that often to live up to the course title. No significant improvement in achievement of skills was noted.
Today, most experts agree that attempts at reforms attempted here and there are swallowed by the complex, multifaceted nature of our educational system, maintaining the status quo; and that major improvements will require more drastic changes. Recent attempts to reform our educational system, involving state government officials, businesses, and educators themselves, demonstrate a new willingness to consider drastic change. Educators, politicians, and the general public are seriously discussing changes that never would have been considered, as recently as ten years ago. .
Many critics of the United States" educational system see technology as the primary tool for making the drastic changes needed to improve the system. Because of the major changes technology has made in the workplace, communications, and business, these critics are demanding similar changes within the educational system. For this reason, the use of technology for promoting educational reform is more popular than ever before. We can learn from the experiences of those educational institutions that have already begun serious reforms, incorporating technological innovations.
