The guidelines in this article help in developing educational software. The first rule is that educators should not develop software for education, but should develop an "educational system" that uses software. The distinction is that the former is primarily concerned with the computer and its requirements while the latter focuses on…

Suggestions offered to improve the quality of instructional computing software created by computer programming instructors cover analysis of the problem, program design, the development of each module, writing and debugging the program, and final testing and development. (EJS)

An important advance in computer assisted instruction (CAI) is the development of authoring systems that allow teachers to write software without the need for direct use of a higher level language. The primary advantage of authoring systems is that they provide teachers with the means to write CAI in plain English rather than using a computer…

Innovative and interesting energy awareness computer simulations are developed to demonstrate how rapidly world energy reserves are depleted, how quickly and enormously the demand for energy grows, and the importance of energy conservation and conversion. (Author/CMV)

A brief discussion of the need to define social studies is followed by methods for developing selection criteria for microcomputer programs in the social studies, a model for lesson development on a microcomputer, and evaluation criteria. The need for educators to carefully state what should be learned is emphasized in terms of controlling the…

The Center for the Study of Evaluation of the Graduate School of Education at the University of California at Los Angeles hosted a two-day conference on "Paths to Excellence: Testing and Technology" on July 14-15, 1983. Attended by over 100 educational researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, day one of the conference focused on issues in…