Scientific developments during the last few decades offer a radical new way of looking at learning--one that appears to have enormous potential for helping teachers bring about major gains in students' achievement. (DS)

Proposes that Gagne's nine events of instruction be incorporated into the systematic design of computer assisted instruction (CAI) for microcomputers and describes the nine events in relation to five different kinds of learning outcomes which occur frequently in CAI. Seven references are cited. (MER)

The current status of creating artificial intelligence (AI) in computers is viewed in terms of what has been accomplished, what the current limitations are, and how vague the concept of intelligent behavior is in today's world. Progress is expected to accelerate once sufficient fundamental knowledge is available. (MP)

Discussed are Seymour Papert's ideas about computers and their role in the educational process. He believes that present-day computers program, rather than teach, the child and has developed a simple and fun computer language called LOGO which lures children into learning by exploration and discovery. (KC)

Reviews some of the assumptions underlying authoring guides and evaluation instruments for computer assisted instructional materials and recommends that software design and evaluation criteria be derived from a consistent learning theory base which considers the type of learning, type of learner, and instructional context. (Author/JJD)