Computers, combined with drama and Socratic dialogue, build thinking skills. The Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) pull-out program, developed in the early 1980s to build the thinking skills of students through exposure to a combination of computers, drama, and Socratic dialogue, enabled disadvantaged fourth through seventh graders to achieve:

• twice the national average gains on reading and math test scores,
• honor roll status for 10 to 15 percent of the students in 1994, suggesting a transfer of the students' cognitive development to learning specific content, and
• increased performance on measures of reading comprehension, metacognition, writing, components of IQ, transfer to novel tasks, and grade point average (Coley et al., 1997; Pogrow, 1996).

Higher-order thinking skills improve with home and school access to computers. Students who were supplied home computers and modem access to the school were compared with students who didn't have this equipment. The students with home computers and modem access to school realized:

• an increase in all writing skills,
• better understanding and broader view of math,
• greater problem-solving and critical thinking skills,
• ability to teach others,
• greater self-confidence and self-esteem, and
• more confidence with computer skills. (Coley et al., 1997; Rockman & Sloan, 1995).

Software tools that promote student collaboration also promote "higher level" science discussions. Fourth and fifth grade students were divided into teams of four or five for a 10-week project designing a lesson for teaching third graders about the brain. Science discussions that led fourth and fifth grade students to reformulate the academic content at higher levels also enabled them to:

• focus on the design of software screens,
• choose their research question within the confines of the science subject,
• choose the software screens to design, and
• choose the methods for conducting their research for teaching third graders about the brain.

Students who were experienced with collaborative software design tools provided better learning opportunities for their peers who were newcomers to the software. "Their extensive questioning functioned as a way for their teams to bootstrap up to the next level of engagement." The combination of whole-classroom science activities with more individualized research questions allowed both for content coverage as well as for activities that were intellectually and socially meaningful to individuals (Kafai & Ching, 2001).

On-line use can increase thinking skills. In a study of twenty-two fourth and sixth grade classes in seven urban school districts, half of the students participated in a civil rights curriculum using online communication and the Internet and half did not use the online resources with the curriculum. The study demonstrated that online use can increase thinking skills. Fourth grade students scored higher on measures of presentation of a full picture or overview of an issue and of 'bringing together' different points of view. In contrast, sixth grade students scored higher on measures of effective presentation, accuracy of information, presentation of full picture, completeness of the assignment, and they scored higher overall (Center for Applied Special Technology, 1996).

The CAST study also found that when students used the Internet to research topics, share information and complete a final project within the context of a semi-structured lesson they became independent, critical thinkers (Coley et. al, 1997).

An evaluation of technology programs in California authorized between 1989 and 1992 reported teacher ratings of changes in student achievement as a result of technology use with classroom instruction. Using a scale of 1 to 5, where 0-1 was 'not at all, '2-3 was 'moderate,' and 4-5 was 'significant, positive change in student problem-solving and higher order thinking skills was rated 3.6 (Cradler, 1991).

A RAND project based on a review of the effectiveness literature and focus groups with practitioners in educational technology reported that through the use of technology, students gain a greater sense of responsibility for their work. They produce higher-quality assignments that reflect the increased depth and breadth of their knowledge and talent. (Glennan & Melmed, 1996).

Interactive video programs have been demonstrated to increase problem-solving skills. Students across nine states who used Jasper video software as a centerpiece for mathematics instruction for 3 to 4 weeks were compared with students who did not. The comparative research demonstrated that the students in classrooms that used the Jasper video programs were better at complex problem solving (Cognition and Technology Group, 1992).

Eighth grade students whose teachers effectively used technology for 'simulations and applications' to enhance higher-order thinking skills performed better on the National Assessment of Education Progress test than did students whose teachers did not use the technology. Students whose teachers used the technology primarily for 'drill and practice' (generally associated with lower order thinking skills) performed worse on the NAEP (Wenglinsky, 1998).

Powerful technologies are now available to significantly augment the skills that are necessary to convert data into information and transform information into knowledge. In an historical review of computers in education, research shows that educational technology, when properly applied, can provide an effective means for learning. (Molnar, 1997).