Describes a five-year study at University College, University of Cincinnati, comparing the writing of basic writing students who (1) did not use computers; (2) used a computer and word processing program; and (3) used a supplementary program guiding students through the writing process. Reports no significant differences in writing quality. (DMM)

Describes a study conducted with eleventh graders that compared the effects of computer-based instruction (CBI) and print-based instruction (PBI) on motivation, continuing motivation, and content recall. Use of the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS) is explained, and the findings, which indicate the superiority of CBI, are discussed.…

A study investigated the effectiveness of teaching French cleft constructions (e.g., "qui est-ce qui...) by three methods: in a contextual presentation; traditionally; and in a presentation influenced by syntactic theory and explaining the internal structure of the phrases. Results suggest formal grammar instruction should focus on familiar…

Describes a study of students at Buffalo State College that was conducted to compare achievement results between a class taught with computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and one taught without CAI. Computer attitudes are examined, sex differences are discussed, and pretest and posttest scores are analyzed. (17 references) (LRW)

Discusses how to determine whether computer-based training (CBT) is appropriate for particular training needs, based on the experiences of one company that needed an orientation program for new employees available on demand at a variety of locations. Highlights include criteria for selecting vendors, outcomes of CBT, and comparing costs. (LRW)

Describes a small-sample study (n=78) that examined vocabulary acquisition by learners of French-as-a-Second-Language in different learning environments. Vocabulary gains made by a group of learners in a multimedia context were assessed against gains made by two control groups, one of which used video support. (Author/JL)

Discusses issues involved in creation and use of course Web sites for language learning. Examples are drawn from a German course taught at Virginia Commonwealth University. Course Web sites created from scratch are compared with sites created with a template-based authoring tool, "Web Course in a Box." (Author/VWL)

Focuses on the issue of the optimal on-line glossing format. Two glossing methods are compared. The first provides readers with sentence-level translation equivalents of the second language words. The second method connects the words with their meanings through basic dictionary forms. Examined which of the two methods is most beneficial for text…

Describes a pilot study at the Open University of the United Kingdom that used a computer mediated communication (CMC) tutor group for a distance learning course. Highlights include the role of the tutor; benefits perceived by students; comparisons with face-to-face tutorials; and tuition issues. (LRW)

A comparison of the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and conventional instruction (CI) revealed no differences in performance and retention level scores after adjusting for differences in general aptitude. Concludes that CAI is as effective as CI and can therefore be used to supplement instructional practices. (Author/PEN)

A self-paced reading skills program was designed to boost the reading ability of seventh- and eighth-grade students. The study correlated students' independent reading levels with science grades. Techniques included guided reading, context clues and cloze activities. Over six months, reading levels increased 1 to 5 grade levels; science grades…

We investigate the effects of cueing, in a multimedia programme for the individualized training of the whole task to prepare a plea, on the learning outcomes of 43 sophomore law students. The cueing formats of worked-out examples (WOEs), process worksheets (PWs), and both WOE and PW are compared to a no-cueing control condition. Our hypotheses…

Although computer-assisted instruction (CAI) favorably affects academic performance and attitudes toward instruction, most CAI programs target mastery but not fluency. This study used a within-subjects, crossover design to compare the effects of CAI that included fluency training with traditional study (TS) conditions on test performance and…

Two types of experiments investigate the visual on-line and off-line processing of German ver-verbs (e.g., verbittern "to embitte"). In Experiments 1 and 2 (morphological priming), latency patterns revealed the existence of facilitation effects for the morphological conditions (BITTER-VERBITTERN and BITTERN-VERBITTERN) as compared to the neutral…

In this article two studies on the use of diagrams in computer-supported collaborative learning are compared. Focus is on the way argumentative diagrams can be used during collaborative learning tasks, more specifically how diagrams support argumentative interaction between students when they discuss ill-defined topics. The main goal is to…