This paper proposes the idea that in smaller countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, computer-assisted education may be creating an era of neo-colonialism in education. The paper discusses the problems of attempting to develop and maintain intellectual and cultural independence in an age of high technology. In countries such as Australia which are on the periphery of the new technology, the number of computer-assisted instructional packages available will be limited, and will therefore be unlikely to meet the needs of the large variety of students they will be attempting to serve. As a model for an attempt to solve this problem, a description of an indigenous Australian, computer-assisted package for the teaching of Australian history in the middle secondary school is provided. This project developed an historical data base and utilized a variety of classroom stragegies designed to enable students to develop skills of historical inquiry. The paper concludes with three guidelines for the development of computer assisted materials for the schools: (1) a need for such materials must be established; (2) the public sector must participate in their development; and (3) educators must play a major role in developing these materials. (CG)