Tools for the Mind

Revisiting the literature from the 1990s on instructional technology is like journeying back to a more nostalgic and hopeful time when the promise of computers—and their potential impact on student learning— appeared boundless. Used in concert with a learner-centered instructional approach and a curriculum that focused on authentic learning, computers, it was thought, would serve as ―mind tools‖ (Jonassen, 1996) to build students' higher-order thinking skills. In fact, the terms computers and higher-order thinking formed a sort of double helix in instructional technology parlance. Infrastructural supports in the United States—such as E-rate and federal funding for hardware, software, and teacher training initiatives—exemplified a commitment to the belief that computers could transform student learning.