Discusses results of a survey of 15 educational software developers, which indicate that none of the companies perform any empirical evaluation of their products as part of the development process. Importance and advantages of validation of the effectiveness of a program are considered, and suggestions for encouraging such validation are offered.…

Describes results of a survey of teachers belonging to the Texas Computer Education Association that was conducted to determine whether authoring tools were being used to develop software for computer-assisted instruction (CAI). Teachers' prior computer education and experience are examined, and the selection of authoring tools is addressed. (six…

Investigated whether program type or content have an effect on middle elementary school children's software preferences and whether gender differences surface when children choose software programs of different type and content. Analysis indicated that children, regardless of gender, preferred a drill and practice mathematics program over the…

Describes how novice software designers interpreted usability sessions and how the designers responded to users' reactions to their prototypes. Describes qualitative analysis of class projects, usability sessions, and interviews with graduate students and proposes recommendations on how to improve the training of educational software developers.…

Provides an example that illustrates the interrelationship of the factors that influence educational software portability. Nielsen's seven-level approach to human-computer interaction is used as the basis for a model for factors that influence portability, and five phases in the life cycle of a software product being adapted are considered. (10…

Discusses the interrelationships of the concepts of adaptability and portability of educational software. A conceptual framework for adaptable educational software is offered, a seven-stage model of adaptation is presented, and the research approach of the USE project in the Netherlands--which is concerned with the development and use of adaptable…

A study involving interviews with experienced educational multimedia developers examined multimedia production, professional roles and responsibilities, factors contributing to successful multimedia development, production tips and techniques from practitioners, and hardware and software. Article discusses implications of the findings and makes…

Describes a study that was conducted to monitor the eye movement behaviors of microcomputer users working with an instructional game under varying color conditions. Eye movement is discussed; the computer software is explained; and implications of the results for further research and for courseware designers are suggested. (21 references) (LRW)

Examines the relationship between student participation in structured activities and academic success at school; discusses the use of computers in schools; and describes a study that investigated 220 students in 3 high schools to determine relationships between participation in structured activities and successful computer use in school. (Contains…

Describes a study of high school students that investigated the impact of embedding an instructional map into hypermedia courseware on student achievement. Treatment of experimental and control groups is described, results of pretests and posttests are compared, and implications for software designers and teachers are suggested. (Contains 23…

This study examined the collateral effects of WiggleWorks, an interactive literacy program, in two settings: a cohort study comparing random samples of grade 1 and 2 students before and after software implementation, and a longitudinal sample tracing students from kindergarten to grade 1. Showed increases in computer use, skills, and…

Describes study that was carried out at the University of Calgary to determine how elementary school children conceive of computer-related tasks and how this information might be used to generate animated icons for educational software. Child-computer interaction is discussed, and differences in responses between three age groups are examined. (10…

Content analysis of 13 textbooks and 2 Department of Education documents was conducted to ascertain common word processing, database, and spreadsheet software skills in order to determine which specific skills should be taught in a high school computer literacy course. Aspects of a basic computer course, created from this analysis, are described.…

This study was designed to determine whether differences in performance on a popular instructional gaming package would be observed under differing conditions of color presentation. It was hypothesized that performance would be enhanced under a monochromatic and/or moderately colored condition, and least successful under a multicolored condition.…

Describes a study of 61 undergraduates that investigated the effects of hypermedia content-structure focusing on learner's structural knowledge acquisition, retention, and disorientation. Use of a Completely Randomized Multivariate Analysis of Variance design for hypothesis testing is explained and implications for hypermedia design are discussed.…