Technology is not  a panacea, or a replacement for human teachers. In 1950's science-fiction, "computer education" implied a direct transfer of knowledge from a vast memory bank to the human brain. In reality, computers are simply another tool like books, projectors, or blackboards. In 1841, Josiah Bumstead predicted that educators would transform their classrooms with a radical new technology... the blackboard. He was right. One would be hard pressed to find a classroom without a blackboard. The printing press was a leap in technology that brought reading and education to the "common" masses.

Computer technology and the digital medium is not much different. There are many instructional tasks for which computer is ill suited; just as there are many instructional tasks for which a blackboard is unwarranted. However, digital media, the Internet, and computers provide virtually instant access to the information that has been contained in books and librarys. They provide access to materials that no library (especially small and rural) could afford to obtain.

But, the usefulness of the computer goes beyond a static repository of texts and images.