Describes a study of undergraduates that investigated the influence of training format on knowledge structure development and how differing knowledge structure measurement techniques can be used to best assess training effectiveness. Manipulated the presence of diagrams in a computer-based training tutorial to assess mental model development and…

Discusses conceptual knowledge acquisition using computer simulation and describes a study of undergraduates that examined the role of metacognitive skillfulness and intellectual ability during initial inductive learning with a complex computer simulation. Results showed that metacognitive skillfulness was positively related to learning behavior…

Discussion of how to teach novice teachers about practical theories and the reflective process of teaching focuses on a hypermedia software system called Chronicles of Teaching. The software features prespecified cases for analysis as well as the ability to enter and link new cases from teachers' classroom observations. (LRW)

Describes a study that compared three graduate level hypermedia courses and investigated whether a certain sequence or specific content might affect students' attitudes toward hypermedia. Authorware-based courses are compared with HyperCard-based courses, and the use of the Stages of Concern Questionnaire is discussed. (LRW)

Describes a study that was designed to demonstrate the effects of computer-based instruction (CBI) on undergraduates' achievement based on achievement status and mode of presentation. Treatments for experimental and control groups are explained, the alternating treatments design (ATD) methodology is discussed, and the personalized system of…

Describes a study conducted at the Naval Postgraduate School to determine student attitudes toward various aspects of network-based instruction. Discusses Internet technology; Web-based education; online learning; learning styles; and results from Kolb's Learning Style Inventory, the Hidden Figures Test, and a number of multivariate procedures.…

Discussion of teacher attitudes toward computer-assisted instruction (CAI) highlights a study that examined the relationship between Eysenck's personality factors (i.e., extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism), religiosity, and attitudes toward CAI in a sample of 190 female teacher trainees at Bar-Ilan University (Israel). (36 references)…

Describes a study of undergraduates that examined differences in computer screen formats and their effects on search time and strategy. Row, diagonal, and column information formats are compared, as well as tightly packed and loosely packed displays, and results of regression and residual analyses are discussed. (38 references) (LRW)

Discusses the relationship between prior computer experiences and the linear or nonlinear steps students choose when working with hypermedia environments and time spent on task (based on a study of graduate students). Experience with content-area software, word processing, databases, spreadsheets, programming, hypermedia, and authoring are…

Discusses the hypothesis that similarities may exist between laboratory research paradigms evoking elevated blood pressure during task performance by normal subjects and video display terminal (VDT) work done by data clerks and college students. Type A behavior and the development of coronary heart disease are discussed, and further research needs…

Describes study that examined the relationship between computer anxiety and the use of psychology courseware in an undergraduate abnormal psychology class using four computerized case simulations. Comparisons of pretest and posttest computer anxiety measures are described, and the relationship between computer anxiety/attitudes and computer use is…

Defines playfulness in human-computer interactions in terms of flow theory and explores the dimensionality of the flow concept. Two studies are reported that investigated the factor structure and correlates of flow in human-computer interactions: one examined MBA students using Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet software, and one examined employees using…

Reports on a study of college student preferences for learning from computer-based instruction screen designs representing four levels of screen density varied by the type of stimulus material and number of frames presented from a single lesson. The implications of the results for practice and research on computer screen design are discussed. (30…

Describes a study of university students that investigated the effects of a variable unique to Internet-based learning, namely download delay of instructional materials. Discusses a simulated online teaching tool that measured the effects of download delay of images on test performance, time spent on the material, end-user satisfaction, and…

Reports on a study that examined different learning strategies used by 63 Field-independent (FI) people and Field-dependent (FD) international college students in a hypermedia assisted language learning setting. Findings that describe the different types of media, tools, and learning aids chosen by FI and FD students are reported. (27 references)…