ABSTRACT
Technology assessment should supplant evaluation if only to avoid the enumerated liabilities of an older term. Perhaps the most visible actor in the area of technology assessment is the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA). An examination of OTA's tasks serves as a reference point for the discussion of training technology assessment. The term technology denotes hardware requirements, but this is a good place to remind ourselves that technology is defined in most dictionaries as "systematic treatment". Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) improves efficiency of training. Many potential users may continue to resist their use of CAI because early CAI programs were mundane and demonstrated only limited understanding of learning psychology. Although it is easy to describe an ideal technology assessment system, it is unfortunately true that a litany of technical issues must be confronted in order to implement a technology assessment approach to training innovations. Technology assessment is recommended because it will give program managers a better estimate of invest resources.
