ABSTRACT

Productivity maybe the central problem for education and educational research for the remainder of this decade. Failure to deal successfully with this issue must inevitably lead to continued reduction of in the real income of teachers and the loss of competent teachers to higher- salaried jobs. The result will be declines in student achievement, followed by lagging economic growth for the nation. Some early signs of these are already visible.

Unfortunately, we presently lack the empirical tools needed to improve productivity. In the short term, educational policy makers must be guided by experience, judgement, and opportunity. Options include larger classes, reduction in administrative staff, reduction in nonessential instructional and extra curricular activities, delayed and smaller increases in teachers salaries, and the substitution of lower- cost capital inputs, say TV, for higher-cost labor inputs. Providing information to education policy makers on the productivity implications of these options is a task for educational research.

The key to productivity improvement in every other economic sector has been technological innovation. Effective application of modern technology in schools therefore a critical subject for research.

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Few doubt that information technology (IT) has the potential to enhance teaching and learning, there is no agreement on how that technology should be used to boost academic productivity--or whether such an increase is in itself a valid goal if its enhancement means substituting technology for the more traditional, labor intensive rhythms of higher education. Not that innovation is lacking on the micro scale. Examples of new technology applications abound. Most institutions have made major investments in the new technologies, distributing computing capacity across