Arguing that educators may be facing their greatest challenge in decades as they seek to integrate critical thinking techniques into the computer-assisted instruction (CAI) environment, this paper discusses the crucial importance of critical thinking and explores some potential adverse effects of CAI in this area. A brief historic overview of…

Two Delphi studies were conducted by the Ethics and Equity Committee of the International Council for Computers in Education (ICCE) to obtain the opinions of experts on areas that should be covered by ethical guides for the use of computers in education and for software development, and to develop a model code of ethics for each of these areas.…

The two studies established an empirically derived set of guidelines for producing and evaluating microcomputer courseware for students with learning disabilities. About 100 teachers of learning disabled students in Pennsylvania and Virginia participated in field testing the guidelines. The first study was conducted in four steps: first,…

A study used schema theory as a basis for developing an instrument to evaluate reading software. The instrument was designed to assess software used in English-as-a-second-language (ESL) reading instruction. Evaluation criteria and questions were developed to address the programs' interactive capabilities (flexibility, response to student errors,…

EX.MAIN, a model for maintenance and staff training which combines knowledge based expert systems and computer based training, was developed jointly by the Department of Production Engineering of the University of Naples and CIRCUMVESUVIANA, the largest private railroad in Italy. It is a global model in the maintenance field which contains both…

This bulletin summarizes six studies on the integration of technology into education. Information provided for each study includes the background or the problem statement, study goals, methodology, conclusions, and recommendations. The first three studies focus on the impact of technology on education: "The Effect of Computer Use and Student…

This booklet is designed to help users understand the skills and concepts needed to develop effective computer assisted instruction (CAI) programs in any computer language and to polish and extend BASIC language programming skills. It assumes some idea of CAI and some BASIC programming (but not fluency), and can be used for self-study, in a…

The use of the computer as an educational tool is examined in the two papers of this report. The first paper, "Taking Control of Educational Technology" by Bertram Bruce, considers what computers are and how they might be used productively in education. The paper notes that the biggest impact of computers may be in terms of the ways they…

Describes studies conducted at a French university to evaluate microcomputer software used in computer assisted instruction. Results of questionnaires completed by a sample of 150 students in beginning computing courses are analyzed to determine how such courseware can be improved, and evaluation versus validation is discussed. (LRW)

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…

This discussion of the use of word processing for instruction in developmental writing classes focuses on a study at York College that used IBM PCs and Bank Street Writer software. Problems encountered, including evaluation, assessment, and revising the concept of writing processes, are described. (Author/LRW)

Describes an expert system microcomputer-based program, ZEERA, which is designed to help users understand and perform statistical analyses. Computer-assisted instruction and the traditional approach of drill and practice are discussed, and benefits of using ZEERA are described based on testing in a university elementary statistics course. (11…

Describes a system for computer-assisted practice of Chinese vocabulary. Its main goal is to help students improve their association between the sound of a Chinese word or phrase and its graphic shape in Chinese characters. This system is currently for use with the Victor 9000. (Author/LMO)

Presents a list of recommended practices for designing computer-based instruction courseware based on principles derived from learning research. Research-based principles and the corresponding design practices are outlined for the areas of stimulus design, learner responses, feedback, and lesson control. (6 references) (CLB)

Discusses benefits of keyboarding instruction for elementary school students, emphasizing the integration of keyboarding with language arts instruction. Traditional typing and computer-assisted instruction are discussed, six software packages for adapting keyboarding instruction to the classroom are reviewed, and suggestions for software selection…