1.3.2.1 The Educational Goals of Past Projects
The goals of educational computing initiatives have usually portrayed the intended educational nature of the projects.
In a Guest Editorial in Electronic Learning Sept. 89, Mary Alice White reflected what has generally been the
predominant concern of educators who have used computers as they constructed their goals:
The first question we should ask of any technological development is: "what is its educational value?"
Metaphorically speaking, we have tigers in technology but mere insects in instruction. We use marvelous electronic
systems for filing, storing, and retrieving information- but they are no better than the information itself.
We said about mainframe computers GIGO, or "garbage in, garbage out." In educational software, we should say TITO,
or "trivia in, trivia out." (White, 1989, p. 6)
The goals and rationales of past educational initiatives have often been driven by the concern that computer
based education should provide experiences that are of the same or better quality than more traditional approaches.
These goals have been the most accessible aspects of past initiatives because they were placed prominently in both
published and unpublished documents. Due to their accessibility and public nature, it can be easy to mistake their
existence for their accomplishment. While the existence of goals has not necessarily guaranteed their achievement,
the goals of projects have revealed the aspirations of the people that have been the most closely associated with them.