Urban Schools and the Clinton/Gore Technology Literacy Challenge

The Clinton administration has been characterized by numerous efforts to encourage the use of technology in public education, rooted in the conviction that such activities are a prerequisite for improvements in the econonomy, the environment, and the overall quality of life. Urban public schools face particularly difficult challenges to such technology implementation. The challenges include aged physical plants, extreme funding difficulties, high levels of administrative turnover, and inadequate professional development programs. This article examines the implications of attempting to integrate extensive technology into such environments and considers the perspective that technology is best viewed as part of, rather than a competitor to, the implementation of a school reform model.