Tool & Technique Analysis - The student analyzes and evaluates tools and resources for designing, developing, producing, and delivering instruction.

How to integrate computers into the curriculum

Computer technology has become an integral part of every individual 's life . The advent of computers and their explosive use in practically every field has jolted the human race into what experts call the informational revolution (Veneris , 1984 . In the current era information ahs become so important and central to a business , it has occupied its true place as a resource rather than a by product of business operations . With the current society now headed towards what Drucker (n .d ) claims to be the next

information revolution , it is only imperative that we train our future generations in this field like we do in any other subject that is considered to be vital by societal standards such as language , mathematics , general science etc

Being a fairly new field of study when compared to other courses of a curriculum , IT and such are constantly changing due to the technological leaps made everyday . A thing invented today becomes obsolete a month later . Skeptics argued that the technological bubble has burst leaving in its wake many people broke who invested in dot com companies . This might be true but only to the extent where the boom in the jobs market is not as exponential as it used to be . If we look at the new products that come on market shelves every fifteen days or so , it will be proof enough for the fact that technology has never seen a better time than this before . And this creates problems when one tries to incorporate IT in school curricula . It becomes hard for schools to keep up with the ace of technology and many schools fail to fully equip their students with the skill set needed to compete effectively in the new world . Schools usually pose some questions regarding the matter such as

Can computer applications help improve student performance in basic skills and other key areas

For what specific skill areas , grade levels , and content areas are computer applications most effective

Which kinds and levels of students seem to profit most from using computers to learn

Which kinds of computer applications are most effective for which skill and content areas

Can computer applications improve students ' attitudes toward school learning , and their abilities to learn

Will improved attitudes translate into better performance in school

These are in fact the key points that they should address and try to achieve the answers to when designing their course strategies

Guidelines to consider are

Grade and intellectual level of students

Scope of subject

Updating with external sources

Type of instructor (industry experience or not

These are the most important factors that an institution should consider while designing the curriculum

The appropriate software too is important to compliment the overall course structure . The software to be used should be decided upon

User friendliness of software

Degree of specialization

Subject area (programming , multimedia etc

Skill level of students

The hardware should be one that can support the requirement of the software . For...