Let us begin with some questions. Why use computers in education? Why are you and I engaged in studying this topic?

First, we are here because our culture is changing. This means many things that will become clearer in the chapters ahead. For one, the core curriculum is changing. Though Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic are not going away, these three Rs have been integrated into something larger. These curriculum fundamentals are not only changing their names but changing important elements of their meaning.

Instead of text focused reading and writing, we have composition, and not on paper but within web pages. Increasingly, only part of this composition involves text, instead adding many other media including digital video, animation, electronic sensors and much more.

Instead of (a)rithmetic, the culture has delivered calculation in new forms, such as spreadsheets that provide for ongoing interaction and scientific visualization of the data.

More importantly, a new topic that is ironically also very old, is being added. The culture is re-adding communication, a topic that has been increasingly ignored in past years as the topic of speech. This concept of speech and rhetoric has been expanded by the World Wide Web and cell phones to not only make spoken language more important, but included other forms of rapid human interaction on a global scale. This global space includes text chat, audio conferencing, video conferencing, web telephone and much more. These three C's of cyberspace create the cybertexture. That is, composition, calculation and communication, are forming the core of 21st century curriculum. You need to be increasing your competency in these skills.

There is a second reason we are here. We are here because cultural and business situations change so quickly. The facts that make up the vast majority of the answers in our tests and assessment tools too quickly become irrelevant. They become meaningless either because the problem has changed or the facts become outdated. Unfortunately, computer technology helps accelerate this change.

There is a third reason. We are here because culture is changing what is important. Today's testing and assessment puts an accent on knowing facts. But today's solutions, for a time of rapid change, require an accent on problem discovery and problem solving. An accent on questions instead of answers more correctly meets the needs of the 21st century environment. Fortunately, the information age provides the tools and concepts to more quickly and effectively manage the problem process.

And that is why you and I will further explore the chapters ahead. It is time to prepare to deal more directly with the impact of our electronic technology, to deal with a changing curriculum, rapid change, and an emphasis on questions. Enjoy.