SRI International

Consider this question: Do we have enough research of adequate quality addressing the right questions to serve as a knowledge base for policy on the use of information and communications technology (ICT) for primary and secondary children and youth? Few reading this paper would be likely to respond in the affirmative. The basis for a negative verdict might involve differences of opinion stemming from appraisals of deficiencies in the questions being investigated, the quantity of available research, or the technical quality of the research. Regardless of the details of the assessment, it is difficult to find people in the United States ICT education community who are satisfied with the current research literature. Contacts and conversations with persons in other nations lead us to feel safe in concluding that the perspective on this matter in the U.S. has analogs in many other nations. Were we to probe deeper, it would become evident that some may never get the research they wish to have. One group who will be perennially dissatisfied includes those who are looking for the “magic bullet ” study that shows that IC