Studying educational computing projects: Challenges and opportunities

Abstract

This paper describes how a long-term project has evolved from a qualitative research study carried out in the early 1990s to the point of transition where it is today. The long-term goal of the project has been to improve the viability of educational computing projects by identifying and disseminating effective and sustainable strategies. The initial study took place between the years 1990-1993. Information from interviews with 19 key participants and supplemental documents were used to explore the educational, technical and organizational contexts of a number of projects. In each project, attempts to reach unique discipline and learner oriented goals afforded by new computing capabilities led to unforeseen technical challenges that became intertwined with issues related to traditional organizational structures. Limitations encountered in the original study's methodology drove this project to transform into an initiative to use negotiation and cooperation to collect and compare historical data about educational computing projects. © 2004 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.