Discusses model-based simulation for training, explains an object-oriented approach, and describes RAPIDS, an authoring system for the production of interactive graphical models and instruction based on those models. Highlights include intelligent tutoring systems; transaction shells; tools for authoring models; and a course on retinal information…

This discussion of the use of microcomputer software in a medical school class for the purposes of emulating oral examinations begins by stating the three major goals of testing in medical school. The limitations of multiple choice tests and oral examinations are then discussed, and the use and suitability of computers to administer and to avoid…

Discusses the use of computer simulations in an instructional context and emphasizes the need for learner support. The SIMULATE project (Simulation Authoring Tools Environment) is described, the concept of intelligent simulation learning environments (ISLEs) is explained, and a conceptual framework for articles included in this issue is presented.…

Discussion of the development of simulation and games for education focuses on future growth in educational, business, and entertainment applications that will be made possible through personal computers and other electronic tools. Highlights include the importance of participation; interactive programs; authoring programs; the design process; and…

Discussion of laboratory experiment simulation in science and engineering education focuses on the need for authoring systems that can be used to create simulations. An editor for a simulator model containing variables and mathematical equations is presented, and screen displays and data analysis are discussed. (LRW)

This paper argues that the use of unrestricted natural language (UNL) interaction is essential in computer-assisted instruction aimed at teaching clinical decision making, and in interactive tests that emulate oral examinations. Knowledge about the scope and limitations of computerized UNL interaction gained during the development of the authoring…

This paper argues that electronic text applications in higher education can be conceptualized in terms of three communicational intentions of computer-based systems: informational, instructional, and instrumental (tool-oriented). Product-oriented and service-oriented applications of electronic text are contrasted, and instructional applications…

The controversy over appropriate educational uses of computers is framed along a continuum based on the amount of support provided to the user. Software programs in which the user's role is to respond in a pre-determined structure (program controlled software) anchors one end of the continuum, while software which empowers the user to create new…

Thirteen articles that discuss use of computer assisted instruction (CAI) in humanities education specifically cover CAI use in philosophy, musicianship training, rhetoric, foreign language, English as a second language, and writing instruction; CAI authoring systems; videodisc technology; educational history; computer simulations; videodisc…