Education is generally regarded as the institution most responsible for providing "survival skills" needed to empower individuals to function effectively within the socio-economic system of a nation. The schooling process is expected to provide common patterns of experiences and knowledge considered essential for promoting economic growth. With the approach of the 21st century, technology must become the driving force in the delivery of instruction to today's youth. Since the birth of microcomputers, the education community has recognized that redesigned teacher training would be essential to the successful integration of technology in classroom instruction. Training teachers and administrators is the key to successful implementation of technology in the classroom. A new paradigm termed techno-literacy is offered as a means of fostering the development of the skills in literacy, numeracy, the humanities, and technologies that are necessary to negotiate economic self-sufficiency in the new technological age. It provides new hope for combating the social determinism that now condemns disenfranchised groups, including African Americans, to conditions associated with social and economic inequality. Techno-literacy suggests that educators have a responsibility to make schools accountable for meeting the needs of children, all of whom must be given the opportunity to learn skills needed to function in a highly technological society. (Contains 11 references.) (Author/SWC)