Discusses the importance of standards in introductory programming courses that enable novice software developers to write correct programs to specification and time. Considers issues involved with assessing students' programming abilities. Provides an overview of an automated assessment system adopted at the University of Warwick (United Kingdom)…

Owing to the emergence and flourishing of the Internet, traditional teaching and educational activities are increasingly relying on the convenient and global-reaching networking technology. To boost up the development of e-learning technology and the interoperability of learning materials, the Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative defined a…

Summarizes development of QUEST, a family of general purpose data handling computer programs which support existing curricula; demonstrates their usefulness for administrative recordkeeping and in elementary school history and geography courses for managing large amounts of data from varied sources (i.e., census materials); and compares QUEST with…

Reports on a one-year action research study at the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) which explored processes by which a cohort of postgraduate teacher trainees learned personal information and communication technology (ICT) skills. Discusses learning strategies reported by students in interviews; considers previous experience and software…

Describes the design principles of computer-assisted learning (CAL) environments in which the software is interactive yet adaptable to different styles of learning and teaching, illustrated with a mathematics application. Following implementation, initial evaluation data taken from students showed marked performance improvements, and indicated how…

Discusses the possibilities for improving courseware and the courseware engineering process using visualization. Advantages and disadvantages of visualization are considered, including psychological, instructional, motivational, cross-cultural, and technical aspects; visual programming systems are described; adaptation and rapid prototyping are…

Reports on a study of undergraduates at the University of Strathclyde (Scotland) that was designed to explore computer support for peer-based learning in methodology tutorials. Describes software that was developed to organize group discussion and discusses student ratings of their reactions to the software and to the tutorial sessions. (Contains…

This paper focuses on the effectiveness and feasibility of two different kinds of individual learners' support in software training in undergraduate classroom settings. Describes varied user interfaces, including a training wheels interface; compares tutor instruction versus self-learning material; and considers learning time, learning outcomes,…

Computer-assisted assessment (CAA) has become increasingly important in education in recent years. A variety of computer software systems have been developed to help assess the performance of students at various levels. However, such systems are primarily designed to provide objective assessment of students and analysis of test items, and focus…

Framed by current concerns about boys' attainment in literacy, this paper investigates the potential of talking books software to support the literacy development of male beginning readers. The study primarily considered whether typically developing boys who showed lower levels of attainment in phonological awareness would show a greater degree of…

Factors which may impede or promote development of computer assisted instruction are identified through interviews with teachers to ascertain attitudes and learn how computer experience had been gained, visiting a school to track computer usage, and recording first experiences of computer software use in classrooms. Suggestions for initiation…

Describes a spreadsheet system that enables students, teachers, and curriculum developers to use Microsoft EXCEL's database and graphics capabilities in the science classroom. System design goals are explained, examples of system applications are given, and possible future developments are discussed. (15 references) (LRW)

Summarizes the results of a study that examined the importance of selecting suitable learning tasks for individual children and the role computers might play in this matching process. The discussion covers both programs that aid teachers in task selection and programs that allow children to choose their own tasks. (2 references) (CLB)

Presents a framework for integrating pedagogy and software design and evaluates the framework by designing two educational programs to be used in coaching exploratory talk in small group work in citizenship and science. Results show that combining software design with off-computer coaching of exploratory talk enhances computer interaction and that…

Discusses multimedia authoring software that uses hypertext and reviews the ways in which use of this technology may support improvements in assessment. Describes research with sixth graders in England that investigated how pupil-produced multimedia documents can reveal aspects of performance that traditional tests may not recognize. (Author/LRW)