District and School Incentives for Teacher' Instructional Uses of Microcomputers

摘要

The microcomputer has become an important educational innovation, and the number of computers available for instruction in public schools is increasing dramatically. The number of teachers with training and knowledge to use computers effectively for instruction is lagging and consequently, beneficial uses of the technology are far from realized. There is widespread recognition that to optimize computer use in classrooms, many teachers will need some form of encouragement. A key factor that may encourage more widespread use of microcomputers in classroom instruction is teacher incentives. Various types of incentives have been proposed to stimulate teachers' involvement with computers. For example, organizational incentives such as support for training or providing various forms of technical assistance may help encourage the implementation of microcomputers to teachers over weekends, vacations, and summers or subsidizing teachers to author courseware may increase teachers' proficiency with computers.