Telecommunication in the classroom: Rhetoric versus reality

Telecommunication exchange projects are currently marketed as curriculum su pplements that conveniently satisfy three key K-12 educational reform objec tives: better writing skills, enhanced multicultural awareness, and better job preparation for a rapidly expanding global economy. This paper analyzes the educational discourse surrounding telecommunication exchanges, and arg ues that much of the current research is contradictory, inconclusive, and p ossibly misleading. The paper also illustrates how the often overly optimis tic claims about technology-based projects are problematic in light of the larger, exceedingly complex role of technology in society.