Otopia: An Implementation Strategy for Computers in Education

ABSTRACT Implementation strategies for computers in education can be ordered on a continuum ranging from “think first, act later” to “act first, think later”. Practical constraints often force a school management team to adopt the latter approach. After having invested both financial resources and time in getting to know how inexpensive hardware and software works teachers start to think about the objectives which might be pursued with the use of the microcomputer. Lack of more extensive resources (money or knowledge) usually impedes further exploration of the alternatives available. We propose a “think first, act later” strategy. OTOPIA consists of six steps: Orientation, Training, Organisation of hardware and software, Preparation for the actual instruction, Initial use, Advanced use and evaluation. Each step is discussed and compared to other approaches.