This two-part interview focuses on the high expectations for the role of computers in higher education that the author feels are not being met. Highlights include discussions of teaching methods incorporating computers, computer science education, computers as research tools, word processing, and the questionable value of learning programming…

Describes the use of computers in a comparative history course. Outlines course objectives and stresses the incorporation of computers into hypothesis formulation. Discusses available software packages and the pros and cons of each. Concludes with further recommendations for the use of computers in the classroom. (RW)

An Amiga 500 microcomputer with a talking word processor was used by an Australian visually impaired elementary school pupil, to provide an alternative to braille in using text and writing. This article reviews the relevant literature, explores the challenges and limitations posed by the technology, and offers a case study of the student and her…

Reports a study that examined entering preservice teachers' prior experience in word processing, database, and spreadsheet software, based on self-reported information. Factors that influenced students' entering skills (for example, gender and computer experience) were noted. Survey data indicated that the subjects had little prior knowledge of…

This study examined recent (1995-1998) education students' exposure to a variety of instructional technologies prior to taking a required instructional technology course. The purpose was to identify how frequently students had used various technologies before entering the required course and to identify longitudinal changes and/or trends in…

The staff of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department at Lansing Community College (LCC), in Michigan, has developed a unique combination of techniques for course support. These techniques have been incorporated into an 11-week course, "Introduction to Computers," which meets for 4 hours of lecture each week, and provides hands-on…

Parallel Alternative Strategies for Students (PASS) is a content-centered package of alternative methods and materials designed to assist secondary teachers to meet the needs of mainstreamed learning-disabled and emotionally-handicapped students of various achievement levels in the basic education content courses. This supplementary text and…

The sixth in a series, this report reviews microcomputer courseware authorized by the Alberta Department of Education from April 1986 through December 1986. (Although earlier publications in this series were cumulative, this edition and the fifth edition contain only new or revised reports.) This edition provides detailed evaluations of 39…

This guide is a selected list of 25 software packages and 15 books about educational computing. It is the first step in guiding librarians, teachers, tutors, and other literacy providers to choose the best and most appropriate software for use by their students and staff. Software is divided by these topics: problem-solving software, tool programs…

Defines computer literacy and describes a computer literacy course which stresses ethics, hardware, and disk operating systems throughout. Core units on keyboarding, word processing, graphics, database management, problem solving, algorithmic thinking, and programing are outlined, together with additional units on spreadsheets, simulations,…

This document is intended for middle school teachers delivering an introductory keyboarding course that is designed to enable students to type at a speed of 25-30 words per minute at the end of the 9-week course. The document begins with a brief discussion of the need for keyboarding skills in view of the increasing importance of computers.…

This document contains the information required to deliver a 1-semester beginning keyboarding course designed to give high school students a basic understanding of the following: parts of a computer; keyboard functions; Windows 95; keypads; techniques for proofreading and formatting various documents; basic word processing features; capitalization…

To examine the effects of introducing portable computers into secondary schools, a study was conducted regarding information technology skills and attitudes of staff and eighth grade students prior to and after receiving individual portable computers. Knowledge and use of word processing, spreadsheets, and database applications increased for both…

Growing consensus among policy makers and educators alike suggests that our education system must be transformed to address the needs of a global society as well as the needs of the 21st century student. Often overlooked as a resource, students can contribute a valuable perspective on education. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to learn…

Several factors have indicated the necessity of formally requiring computer literacy at the university level. This paper discusses the reasoning for, the development of, and content of two computer literacy courses required of all freshmen. The first course contains computer awareness and knowledge that students should have upon entering the…