An analysis was made of the use of computing tools at the graduate and undergraduate levels in colleges and universities in the United States. Topics ranged from hand-held calculators to the use of main-frame computers and the assessment of the SPSSX, SPSS, LINDO, and MINITAB computer software packages. Hand-held calculators are being increasingly…

Four articles focus on computers, information technology, and education: (1) "Information Technology: Some Implications for Education" (A. G. Shannon, B. S. Thorton, and Gareth Locksley) examines the last phase of technological development, the communication phase, as it relates to computer technology in education; (2) "Computers in…

Four issues of the "Macintosh Lab Monitor" document the Computer-Aided Writing Project at the Forman School (Connecticut) which is a college preparatory school for bright dyslexic adolescents. The project uses Macintosh computers to teach outlining, writing, organizational and thinking skills. Sample articles have the following titles:…

Offers some suggestions for using a microcomputer in class when only one work station is available. (JC)

Describes use of the programing language "Logo" and the Apple II computer to teach high school students how to write extended definitions. By defining procedures in Logo for drawing simple geometric patterns, students learn that good definition requires precision, rewriting and, in complex tasks, recursion, an aspect of extended…

The research literature on the effect of computer assisted writing with disabled and non-disabled persons is reviewed. Covered are research on: composing processes, composing with computers, software for intervening in the composing process (e.g. drill and practice, text analysis, simulations); and developing writers. (DB)

Describes using computer assisted instruction in a peer tutoring program. Assesses the program's effects on both tutors and tutees. Finds the tutoring program a positive preventive intervention for high risk students. (ABB)

Presents the findings of a survey of comprehensive and independent schools' use of microcomputers as teaching and learning aids in economics. Results suggest that use is wide spread but not intensive. Teachers allocate few hours to computer programs per year, have difficulty finding suitable software, and fail to encourage use by girls. (JDH)

Discusses a study that assessed how students felt about computers and how they perceived computers performed as instructional tools. A majority of the tested students indicated that the computer was a useful tool in their chemistry classes, that the labs were realistic, but computer grading should not be used. (ML)

Describes the approach taken and materials used for introducing computer symbolic mathematics to undergraduate calculus students. Explains the features of the muMATH software package and reviews the modifications that were made to the program. Includes an exercise on plotting graphs. (ML)

This paper compares a number of different Computer Algebra Systems (CAS) in their solution of one-step and multi-step problems. The CAS programs considered include DERIVE, Maple, Mathematica, and MuPAD while the problems are taken from the final examinations of grades 9 and 12 in Estonian schools. The different outputs to one-step problems with…

In 1985 The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) conducted an extensive investigation of student academic readiness for Texas' institutions of higher education. From the study it was learned that 30% of the students were unable to read, write or compute at desired performance levels. The state's response was the Texas Academic Skills…

This study addressed the status quo of instructional software produced by national Saudi Arabian software companies as well as the utilization of commercially produced software at selected 1-12 private schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Descriptive data from a survey of general managers of four major software producers are reported, as well as from…

To understand the value and impact of technology, one must recognize that there have been three distinct phases in technology uses and expectations: Print Automation, Expansion of Learning Opportunities, and Data-Driven Virtual Learning. This report takes an in-depth look at these three phases and, for each, addresses two important and highly…

This issue of "TAP into Learning" focuses on technology-assisted learning activities for students, in particular on those that use spreadsheets. Articles include: "Using What Learners Know"; "Activity: Grade 7 and 8 Math, Social Studies and Language Arts"; "Managing Growth: Collaborative Decision-Making in Urban Planning"; "Spreadsheets"; "Getting…