The special educator in the information age¹²

Before discussing microcomputer applications in special education, we must first place the computer itself in perspective. Contrary to a lot of statements in the press and notwithstanding Time magazine's award (Time magazine, 1983) to the computer as the machine of the year, the major phenomenon we are witnessing is not a computer revolution. The major phenomenon is the birth of the information age. We represent the last generation of the industrial age. The pupils presently coming to school are the first generation of the information age. When our present eighth graders take their place in society, 75% of them will be involved in information related industries. We are participating in a massive change in the very structure of society. For those of us whose life span will include the transition between these two ages-the industrial and the information age-this is indeed a time of wonder, challenge, and confusion. Like the adolescent caught between childhood and adulthood, we are experiencing that strange mixture of excitement and confusion as some of our traditional reference points dissolve and we try to determine which of the new directions has substance and which are shallow, seductive facades.