Diffusion of Information Technology (IT) in Education: Issues, Concerns and Implications for Educators Informed by Research

Abstract

We have been witnessing advances in information technology (IT) or information communication technology (ICT) over the last decade of the 20 th century and have been experiencing the widespread use of the Internet and World Wide Web (WWW) as well. Without doubt, the new network technologies have indeed affected the way we live, work, do business, communicate, entertain, teach and learn (Chen, 2000). The rapid changes taking place in information technology have had their impact on individuals, societies, nations, and the world as a whole. In an information society, basic information-related knowledge and skills will be required of all people. The diffusion of IT in education has also become a goal common to technologically advanced nations in order to increase citizens' information literacy and to raise overall national competitiveness because information education will be the foundation stone for both individuals and nations as we strive towards the information age (MOE, 1999). Since the early 1990s, the massive effort required to move ahead in facilitating information education has become a national priority in many countries (Eastmond & Kim, 2000). Active diffusion of information technology by policy-makers through substantial and on-going investment in national information infrastructure has become a world trend. For example, the U.S.A. implemented its National Information Infrastructure (NII) in 1993 and, in a drive toward wider bandwidth, the Internet II project--a Next Generation Internet (NGI)--was soon proposed by President Clinton in 1996 and approved later in 1998 (Liu, 1997; Lin, 1998).