Computers and Education – Recognising Opportunities and Managing Challenges

IFIP’s Technical Committee 3 (TC3) is dedicated to concerns about uses of computing and digital technologies in education. TC3 covers the interests of those who are concerned with policy, practice and research in the fields of digital technologies and computing used for educational purposes, whether for management, teaching or learning, and whether by teachers, learners, parents, policy makers, developers, or the wider adult population involved in lifelong learning. This chapter considers the shifting focus of IFIP TC3’s concerns for computing and education over the past 60 years, the reasons for those shifts, and the challenges that educators have faced in developing appropriate uses of computers in their practices. The chapter explores the roles and influences of TC3 conferences, its academic journal, its working groups, and its current task force. Separate sections provide an overview of important TC3 visions and declarations that have highlighted contemporary and future issues, and the status of an evolving declaration focusing on future sustainability and computing. The chapter concludes with an overview of the impact of TC3, and signposts next steps in its ongoing journey.