The meteoric rise of the computer age is a challenge for public educators, many of whom are still unfamiliar with basic computer technology. Yet many educators are finding that they can correct their misconceptions about computers by becoming "computer aware." Computer awareness comes from gaining a knowledge of computer history; a basic…

Computer science and other computer related fields are faced with the high velocity of change in technology. Far more important than the knowledge of a particular software package is the liberal education skills that are learned in the process. This paper reviews the laboratory component of a new computer science course offered at Miami University…

Visually handicapped students (10-19 years old) at the Nebraska School for the Visually Handicapped receive training on computer equipment for word processing, computer literacy, programming, and computer assisted instruction. Hardware and software used in the program include the Kurzweil Reading Machine, the VersaBraille system, Total Talk, and…

This paper reports on a study involving the administration of two examinations that were designed to evaluate student knowledge in several areas of computing. The tests were given both to computer science majors and to those enrolled in computer science classes from other majors. They sought to discover whether computer science majors demonstrated…

Analyzes a teacher training course taught for two subsequent years in Italy in which students investigate how computers can be used as tools to improve the learning process. The course topics examined, working method adopted, and results obtained are discussed, and suggestions are made for training present and future teachers. (Author/MBR)

Computer Science and related majors have seen a decrease in enrollment across the country in recent years. While there are several theories behind why this may be the case, as educators in many areas of computing and information technology, this is a trend we should attempt to reverse. While it is true that many children are "computer literate",…

Like most two-year colleges, Chipola Junior College has had to respond quickly to the impact of the microcomputer revolution. A demanding clientele of students and community members, a faculty and staff unprepared for microcomputer technology, and limited equipment resources dictated the rules of change. After it was determined that computer…

America is no longer an industrial society but an information society made up of knowledge workers as opposed to production workers. As America accelerates into the information society and the technology it offers, Americans must view themselves as part of three worlds, each affected by society--professional, personal, and social. Significant…

The Assessment Policy Committee of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has directed the NAEP staff to focus the 1985-86 Assessments of Reading, Mathematics, Science, and Computer Competence on the higher-order skills. Each Learning Area Committee worked independently developing three-dimensional models. These defined what could…

Prepared as an address for educator groups, this paper provides a theoretical perspective for thinking about problems and prospects for integrating microcomputer uses in school activities. Six major aspects of the perspective are defined: (1) the computer as general-purpose symbolic device; (2) the importance of developmental studies of children's…

Within the last five years there has been a great deal of change in the role of technology in the schools. The advent of microcomputers has had an impact on instructional techniques as has the development of interactive graphics and animation, and other technologies such as videodisc and micronet. Teacher educators face the responsibility of…

The purpose of this study was to investgate the role of self-efficacy expectations in understanding gender differences in the election of college computer science courses. Participants were 368 undergraduate students (males=104, females=264) enrolled in a course fulfilling a general education requirement at a large urban university. A two-page…

This paper describes a multimedia workshop at Worcester State College (Massachusetts) organized by computer science students to give their older classmates the opportunity to gain "hands on" experience with multimedia computers. A questionnaire on the effectiveness of multimedia systems was completed by 35 older students, whose average…

Computers are changing the lives of millions of people, but schools are still not producing many computer literate students. Rapid improvements in hardware technology and major progress in the development of software have put computers within reach of everyone. Computer literacy must now be treated as a functional tool similar to reading, writing,…

Franklin Pierce College (New Hampshire) has established an information technology (IT) major which combines courses from the computer science, graphic communications, and mass communication disciplines to conform more closely to the reality of technology in the late 1990s. Information technology brings together tools from these disciplines for the…