US K-12 Schools Spent $2.1 Billion on Education Technology in 1992/93 

Spending expected to grow 13% in 1993/94 

September 13, 1993 (Washington, DC)- Spending on personal computer
technology by US schools rose nearly 20% in the 1992/93 school year,
reaching $2.1 billion, according to a study released today by the Software
Publishers Association (SPA). A total of 332 K-12 school districts
participated in the study and projected that spending on educational
technology will rise another 13% in the 1993/94 school year to $2.24
billion.

The study was completed in the summer of 1993 and involved interviews with
Technology Coordinators in K-12 school districts of all sizes in all parts
of the US.

The study breaks out the following expenditures:

* Districts spent a total of $1.98 billion on education technology products
and services in school year 1992/93, a 19% increase from $1.67 billion in
school year 1991/92. Individual schools spent an additional $120 million,
independent of district funds, for educational software, bringing the
total spending on educational technology in the 1992/93 school year up to
$2.10 billion.

* Spending on hardware and peripherals accounted for the majority of
educational technology spending in the 1992/93 school year. Schools and
school districts spent $570 million on non-Integrated Learning System
(ILS) education software, or 27% of the total educational technology
spending.

* Schools and school districts had a total of 4,398,000 personal computers
installed at the time of the survey. The majority of these personal
computers were used primarily for instructional purposes, while 435,000
(10%) were used primarily for administrative tasks.

* Technology coordinators expect that personal computers will increasingly
be decentralized into classrooms, and will increasingly be connected to
local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs).

* An estimated total of 112,000 CD-ROM drives were installed at the time of
the survey. Among anticipated peripheral purchases, intent to purchase
CDROM drives was particularly strong, and would cause a 72% increase in
the installed base of CD-ROM drives. Purchase intent was also strong for
videodisc players and modems.

* Finally, the technology coordinators identified a number of trends that
are influencing their district's use of educational technology. Most
importantly, they noted that technology is becoming part of the curriculum
and will be increasingly integrated into instruction. They see networking,
and instructional use of telecommunications, CD-ROMs and multimedia
applications as technologies that will importantly affect our children's
education.

"Technology has the potential to play a major role as we reinvent our
education system," said Ken Wasch, Executive Director of the SPA.
"Districts recognize this role, and are increasing spending on education
technology even as overall spending levels are constrained. Education
software is the key to the mix, the ingredient that engages the student
and helps learning happen. We are very bullish on the future of education
software."

The Software Publishers Association is the principal trade association of
the PC software industry. Its 1,000 members represent the leading
publishers in the business, consumer, and education markets. The SPA has
offices in Washington, DC, and Paris, France.

Software Publishers Association
1730 M St, Northwest, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20036
202-452-1600,  Fax: 202-223-8756

 ==========================================================
 From the 'New Product Information' Electronic News Service
 ==========================================================
 This information was processed from data provided by the
 above mentioned company. For additional details, contact 
 the company at the address or telephone number indicated.
 ==========================================================
 All submissions for this service should be addressed to:
 BAKER ENTERPRISES,  20 Ferro Dr,  Sewell, NJ 08080  U.S.A.
 Email:  RBakerPC (AOL/Delphi), rbakerpc@aol.com (Internet)
 ==========================================================
