Computer-Assisted Instruction

American education has long incorporated technology in K-12 classrooms—tape recorders, televisions, calculators, computers, and many others. Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) refers to the use of computers and computer-related applications such as the Internet to [Page 171]support instruction and cognition. CAI also takes into consideration the processes involved in the integration of these technologies into existing curricula. Research on the effectiveness of computer use on educational outcomes is mixed, but suggests that computer-based instruction increases student achievement at least as much as more conventional modes of instruction. While information technologies, more specifically desktop computers, have had an enormous impact on American business and how business is transacted over the past several decades, instruction at the K-12 level has not undergone the “megachange” that technology was predicted to ...