One of our goals while at Apple was to support and strengthen Apple's core K-12 business. A lesson we learned in studying technology use in a local high school was that teachers often have technology in their classrooms, but they do not know how to effectively integrate it into their curricula. Because schools today are just beginning to ramp up on technology development, teachers often need significant help with the logistical, managerial and pedagogical issues associated with technology. Apple had a strong track record of providing just such support to teachers.

In previous research, we had studied a digital photography class at Lincoln High School in San Jose. We were impressed with the way sophisticated technology was being used in a high school classroom to great effect (Nardi and Reilly, 1996a, 1996b) in an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse school. We created a CD-ROM documenting the classroom experience which is now used by Apple marketing and by high school teachers who can order the CD-ROM through Starting Line, an Apple catalog service. The students enjoyed creating digital photos and learned something about both art and computers. For students who do not have computers at home-~ of the USA nationally-exposure at school is critical.