Reporter's Notebook

Technical gurus who keep district computer networks ticking took stock of their profession here last week, at a time when technology is assuming greater importance than ever in schools.

"We need to be able to answer the question of what is the effectiveness of technology in instruction," Jim Hirsch, the executive director of technology for the Plano, Texas, schools, said during the fifth annual conference of the Washington-based Consortium for School Networking. So far, he added, "the answer is elusive."

Several speakers at the conference, held Feb. 22-24, did offer such an answer. For example, West Virginia schools Superintendent Henry Marockie described a year-old study in the state's elementary schools that found that computer labs are a cost-effective way...