Information technology is different from other curriculum areas, in that technology changes limit the lifespan of educational software, and skills training for teachers may be necessary. With these circumstances in mind, the author discusses the implications of various types of resources for teaching information technology concepts to children, and provides advice for those writing, reviewing, or evaluating such resources. Although the author wrote this paper in the context of information and communication technologies (ICT) national curriculum requirements for England, the ideas presented are also applicable in other countries.

The delicate balance between enabling teachers to teach unfamiliar topics and providing opportunities for teacher creativity is one focal point of this paper. The balance between enforcing strict compliance with the prescribed curriculum and encouraging teachers to address the learning needs of particular groups of children is another. A strength of this paper is its specific examples, which help to make its abstract concepts concrete. If you are interested in writing or evaluating educational resources for teaching the concepts of computer technology, you will be interested in this paper.