Despite much fanfare, new technologies have yet to fundamentally advance student outcomes in K-12 schools or other educational settings. We believe that the system that supports the development and dissemination of educational technology tools is falling short. The key missing ingredient is rigorous evaluation. No one knows what works and for…

A new computer program designed to reach out into the community as well as train students, faculty, and staff includes a built-in evaluation program. (MD)

This review of the literature begins by exploring the development of computer literacy as a discipline since its introduction in colleges and universities around 1965 and in economically privileged high schools around 1970. The impact of a conference sponsored by the National Science Foundation and Human Resources Research Organization in 1980 on…

This hearing report covers three bills: (1) H.R. 3750, which would authorize grants to local educational agencies to purchase computer equipment; (2) H.R. 1134, which would provide funds to establish and operate model centers for computers in education; and (3) H.R. 4628, which would establish a government corporation to promote the development…

Some school systems are recognizing their responsibility to check software piracy, and a few publishers are responding to schools' needs and offering discounts on multiple copies of software to schools with policies protecting software copyright. Includes a model policy example. (MD)

Steps to simplify and evaluate software selection are provided, with specific guidelines for selection criteria. Included are four sample evaluations of educational courseware. (MD)

This report on the status of programs authorized under Article 8, "Technology and Educational Improvement," from July 1, 1983, through December 31, 1985, summarizes progress in areas addressed by each of 12 sections of the article: (1) Technology Utilization Plans; (2) Inservice Training for Technology Use; (3) Regional Coordinators; (4)…

Education courses in BASIC remain a foundation of teacher training for computer use. Such courses do little more than re-invent programming structures that are already available in such educational programming languages (EPLs) as PILOT and TEACH. While BASIC is the only general programming language that is both simple and powerful enough to enable…

Discusses functions of the Alberta (Canada) Computer Technology Project's courseware clearinghouse, reviews findings on instructional software quality, identifies software development trends, and discusses need for support systems to facilitate the incorporation of computer assisted instruction in Canadian schools. (MBR)

This newsletter presents the results of a National Governors' Association (NGA) survey, conducted November 1986 through January 1987, on state responses to the recommendations of the NGA Task Force on Technology regarding new ways to acquire and use educational technology. The following topics covered by the survey are discussed: (1) hardware…

Describes a system recently implemented in a Utah school system which uses computer technologies to promote and monitor mastery learning. Discusses the development of the system, including the search for appropriate hardware and software, and the training of teachers to use the system. (TW)

This survey, which covers the 1985-86 school year, is the third statewide computer survey by the South Carolina Department of Education. The report provides an overview of the instructional and administrative uses of computers in 92 of the state's 94 districts including the following elements: (1) subject areas in which computers are used; (2)…

This survey, which covers the 1986-1987 school year, is conducted by the South Carolina State Department of Education. Two separate questionnaires, both of which inventoried computer equipment and software and dealt with the instructional and administrative uses of computers, funding, and software inventory, were distributed to all South Carolina…

Karl Marx's theory of stages can be applied to computer use in the schools. The first stage, the P Stage, comprises the entry of the computer into the school. Computer use at this stage is personal and tends to center around one personality. Social studies teachers are seldom among this select few. The second stage of computer use, the D Stage, is…

This plan outlines the funding for activities of the Indiana Consortium for Computer and High Technology Education for the 1987-89 biennium. The consortium was created by the Indiana General Assembly in 1983 to promote effective use of technology in schools, evaluate educational computer use, provide training, and assist local schools in…