During the last years, development of open learning environments that support effectively their users has been a challenge for the research community of educational technologies. The open interactive nature of these environments results in users experiencing difficulties in coping with the plethora of available functions, especially during their…

This paper presents a methodology designed to explore the role of context in collaborative knowledge construction activity in asynchronous web-based discussion. The discussions of two student groups participating in a web-based teacher education course were compared. The comparison aimed to highlight the differences and similarities between the…

A study examined distance training in the European Union (EU) countries. First, recent literature on the following topics was reviewed: technology-supported learning, flexible and distance learning, development of open distance learning, and teleconferencing and distance learning. Next, enrollments and trends in distance learning in the EU as a…

Aptitude-treatment interactions (ATIs) refer to the covariation between learner characteristic and instructional treatment in relation to some outcome measure. To systematically test for ATI, an intelligent tutoring system instructing in basic principles of electricity was chosen as a complex but controlled learning task. Two learning environments…

This paper describes a prototype software tool for support of peer-to-peer conversation in distance education courses in text-based asynchronous mode, utilizing the visual structure of multiple threads of conversation. The theoretical basis for this design is a comparative analysis of oral, written, and electronic communication that enables the…

The impact of word processing on students' attitudes and grades was studied using 235 students in 15 sections of freshmen composition at a large midwestern university. Students in the word-processing sections wrote and revised their papers on the Macintosh Plus using the software MacWrite. Students in the traditional sections used paper, pencils,…

A study investigated whether statistically significant differences in reading achievement developed after an exposure to the Writing to Read (WTR) program. Subjects were 15 third-grade students from a 100% minority population elementary school on Chicago's west side who were exposed to the Writing to Read program and 15 students from the same…

The use of computer assisted instruction in teaching statistical concepts was studied. Students enrolled in classes in education who lacked statistical experience participated. Knowledge questions for pretest and posttest assessments were prepared from a pool of questions used in the statistics department of the College of Education at Virginia…

The Chapter I Take-Home Computer (THC) program was established in nine elementary and eight middle schools in Atlanta (Georgia) in the 1989-90 school year. One hundred and eighty computers were sent home with 422 students, whose parents were willing to work with the students, for 6-week periods. Log sheets were kept by each child regarding the…

A computer-assisted instruction (CAI) program using Utah PILOT programming language was constructed that includes the same objectives that are taught during the presentation of a traditional library tour. The amount of time necessary to complete the CAI program is approximately the same time needed by a student taking a library tour. The…

The objective of the research is to learn if learning level of the university students in redox subject of chemistry education change when they use traditional learning method and computer supported method, and to compare these two methods by measuring their success through pre- test and final test. And also some factors that may affect the…

This first volume of a two-volume report describes a project at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) which assessed the effectiveness of a Virtual Classroom (VC) in which students and teachers communicate through a computer-mediated system called the Electronic Information Exchange System (EIES). Chapter 1 provides background on project…

To compare information about the uses of computers in composition in representative universities, this document reports on a study that gathered data from teachers, administrators, and students at 10 universities by means of questionnaires and interviews by letter, by phone, and in person during visits to campus computer labs and classrooms. The…

Results of 2 years of applying microcomputing technology in a college freshman English program at a medium-sized university are reported. Using a cross-factorial research design, six instructors and six control and six experimental sections were studied to determine the cognitive, pedagogic, and financial implications of the microcomputer…

A study explored the effects of word processing on the revision strategies of 20 advanced college freshmen enrolled in a required writing course. Subjects were divided into two groups of 10, each of which alternately wrote a series of four essays on and off the computer. For each essay students submitted three drafts, which were analyzed for…