A light box is an apparatus designed to show the logical states of the User Port Pins of a PET microcomputer. Details of this aspect of computer studies are provided to introduce students to the possibilities of microprocessor control. Details of PET User Port interface and sample programs are included. (Author/JN)

This study identified computer objectives based on recommendations of the authoritative accounting bodies, determined whether the typical introductory computer course has these same objectives, and examined the influence of the academic department responsible for teaching the course. Relationships between department and course objectives,…

Discusses teacher certification courses in computer education focusing on syllabus development and structure, involvement of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), and course aims (including knowledge of computer uses in education). Also discusses pilot projects involving the new certification scheme. Additional information can be found in February 1981…

Presents test cases to adequately test the "triangle program" described in part 1 (appearing in volume 42 of this journal). Discusses test case design and design techniques, differentiating between testing (showing that errors present) and debugging (finding where/what errors are and correcting them). Suggests testing be incorporated into…

Suggests a moving pictorial tool to help teach principles in the bubble sort algorithm. Develops such a tool applied to an unsorted list of numbers and describes a method to derive the run time of the algorithm. The method can be modified to run the times of various other algorithms. (JN)

The use of the Prolog programing language is promoted as the language to use by anyone teaching a course in relational databases. A short introduction to Prolog is followed by a series of examples of queries. Several references are noted for anyone wishing to gain a deeper understanding. (MP)

Describes a preliminary investigation in which students were taught BASIC programing using deliberately bugged programs, with program descriptions and photographs of screen as it should look if programs were running correctly. Includes educational issues involved, constraints of the investigation, sample programs, subjective/statistical analyses,…

The four areas of the Computer Based Learning Unit are considered after a brief history is given. The areas are: (1) the computer based teaching system; (2) research; (3) authoring systems and production of teaching material; and (4) initial and in-service training of teachers. The presentation concludes with a view to the future. (MP)

The future direction of computers in educational settings is the topic of speculation. It is noted that resources in education are so meagre that only practical ventures can be considered. Suggestions are made for stretching available resources and maximizing the benefits to be gained through the new technology. (MP)