Student retention in Computer Science is becoming a serious concern among Educators in many colleges and universities. Most institutions currently face a significant drop in enrollment in Computer Science. A number of different tools and strategies have emerged to address this problem (e.g., BlueJ, Karel Robot, etc.). Although these tools help to…

Reports descriptive analyses of production data gathered from experienced instructional developers who used a commercial authoring package and supplemental coding over a one-year period to produce three separate instructional lessons on thinking skills as part of a larger commercial educational product. (Author/LRW)

Reports the results of an empirical study in Brunei Darussalam that identified the types of skills required for entry-level computer programmers. Investigated whether skills were related to organizational size; determined that communications skills were the top requirement, followed by database management systems skills; and discovered a decline…

The development of collaborative studies in learning has led to a renewed interest in the field of Web-based education. In this experimental study a highly interactive and collaborative virtual teaching environment has been created by supporting Moodle LMS with collaborative learning tool GREWPtool. The aim of this experimental study has been to…

A study analyzing survey results of more than 850 students enrolled in college computer courses was conducted. The survey included, among other things, questions about students' preferences for a programming assignment. The three choices given were examples of common types of programming assignments found in CS1 textbooks: an application to…

Many believe that girls lack the confidence and motivation to persist with computers when they face a challenge. In order to increase the number of girls and women in information technology careers, we need a better understanding of how they think about and solve problems while working on the computer. In this article, we describe a qualitative…

Describes a multimedia-based Russian language course developed at Colgate University (NY) and a multimedia authoring system that makes the creation of such courses technically feasible for language instructors. The use of movies, foreign language instruction, principles of design, development frameworks, and future plans are discussed. (Author/LRW)

The impact of gender on computer related attitudes, ability, and use has been actively documented, but little research has been done examining how to modify and reduce imbalances. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of ubiquitous computing (24-hour access to a laptop and the Internet) on gender differences in pre-service teachers…

The concern with a "digital divide" has been transformed from one defined by technological access to technological prowess--employing technologies for more empowered and generative uses such as learning and innovation. Participation in technological fluency-building activities among high school students in a community heavily involved in the…

Students in an introductory computing class participated in a study investigating the impact of using a graphics programming environment (Alice) and pair-programming on confidence, enjoyment and achievement. Sixty-four participants completed a short questionnaire and a content pre-test about computer programming concepts. Students were then…

Examines whether an approach to teaching Logo programming that directly guides college students in use of cognitive monitoring skills and the transfer of those skills leads to increased cognitive monitoring and problem-solving skills. Demonstrates that guided instruction led to increased comprehension monitoring and contributed to the development…

Presents a human-computer interaction (HCI) conceptions model designed to help in the understanding of the cognitive processes involved when college students learn to program computers. Examines syntactic and algorithmic HCI operational errors and reviews conceptions based on natural language reasoning, independent computer reasoning, and…

Describes the design of an intelligent Web-based interactive language learning system to support learning English as a second language on the Internet. Highlights include an interactive English writing environment; an authentic conversation learning environment; authoring tools to facilitate teachers' content preparation; system architecture; and…

Discussion of the time needed to create computer-based instruction focuses on descriptive analyses of production data gathered from novice instructional designers and novice authors who used a commercial authoring system to produce computer-based lessons. Production ratios are explained, and future research plans are discussed. (Contains five…

Compares characteristics of students taking programming-oriented versus applications-oriented higher education courses. Topics include computer engagement, programming experience, computing attitudes, a greater gender imbalance in enrollment on the programming-oriented course, the usefulness of psychometric measures, discriminant function…