Dr. Michael Hoban responds to questions concerning the role and future of computers and microcomputers in education, the design of computer education, computer software, and faculty development. (DMM)

Examines myths and fears about computer-based training (displaces trainers, dehumanizes learners), lists what computers cannot do (analyze needs, formulate objectives, act as subject experts), and what they can do effectively (handle knowledge transfer, provide simulation). (SK)

Summarizes the different ways that computer systems can help us communicate; examines the social impact of computers, especially in education; and suggests that computers can enhance rather than hinder the interactions between people. (MP)

Suggests that the proper use of computers in the classroom is not in the drill of computer-assisted instruction but as a tool for solving problems in various subjects. In this manner, students learn how computers work as well as learning in subject areas. (Author/IRT)

Discusses how technology will be utilized in the future to improve instruction and increase the value of technical training, both to students and their potential employers. Administrative applications such as recruitment, billing, and job placement, and instructional applications such as word processing and computer-aided design are examined. (CT)

Current investigations in the Computers and Music group in the Department of Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo are detailed. New instructional methods and applications are described and proposed that take advantage of microcomputers to improve and enhance the teaching and learning of music. (MP)

The programing language described was designed to remedy the weaknesses of BASIC by adding structured constructs and other desirable improvements, while retaining the major features and overall spirit of BASIC. COMAL 80 (COMmon ALgorithmic language), developed in Denmark, is proposed as an introductory programing language for schools. (Five…

Discusses the rationale for sharing courseware between educators, describes the problems of hardware incompatibility associated with software sharing, and introduces a multilingual interpreter system which allows instructional software implemented in different computer languages and on different machines to be shared with a minimum of work. A…

Summarizes what has been learned, thoughts regarding mistakes that have been made, and recommendations for addressing future questions, regarding the role of computers in the educational process. Reviews the research on computer based instruction. States that findings are inconclusive and often contradicting. Recommends that different evaluation…

Discusses the integration of instructional science and computer science. Topics addressed include motivation for building knowledge-based systems; instructional design issues, including cognitive models, representing student intentions, and student models and error diagnosis; representing tutoring knowledge; building a tutoring system, including…

In most instances, the papers in this collection present information reflecting the current status of computer usage in education and offer substantive forecasts for academic computing. Two speeches from the special ceremony for the renaming of the computing center in honor of Gerard P. Weeg, which was held as part of the two-day national computer…

The efficacy of using graphic representations of concepts, which are more readily generated on a computer than in traditional texts, was studied. The study, which involved teaching computer programming, is described. The necessity of further research is discussed. (JL)

Discussion of problems in computer assisted instruction focuses on poorly written software and the role of computer programing. Use of computers without programing knowledge is discussed, and pragmatics is emphasized as the discipline needed to supplement syntax and semantics in the field of computer science. (seven references) (LRW)

We will argue that CALL can usefully be viewed as a subset of computer software engineering and can profit from adopting some of the recent progress in software development theory. The unified modelling language has become the industry standard modelling technique and the accompanying unified process is rapidly gaining acceptance. The manner in…

Discusses why computer assisted instruction did not work in many classrooms, how older people have fought the new technology, and why implementation of computer technology as part of training has been slow. Also examines uses of the videodisc and microcomputer and the trainer's role. (CT)