To explore the potential effect of computer type on the Test of English as a Foreign Language-Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT) Writing Test, a sample of 444 international students was used. The students were randomly assigned to either a laptop or a desktop computer to write two TOEFL iBT practice essays in a simulated testing environment, followed…

Research on expert performance suggests that deliberate practice provides optimal opportunities for expertise development. This study examined whether the provision of computer-based scaffolding (CBS) guiding deliberate practice facilitates students' development of writing expertise. A CBS environment "escribo" was designed to externally…

This paper reports an application of multimedia in a blended learning environment in which students engaged in multimodal presentations and peer group discussion. Students' presentation files were commented upon by their peers on the discussion board and scored by the researcher, based on questions developed by Levy and Kimber (2009) to apply…

The purpose of this interpretive case study was to explore--through a close analysis of one class project--students' use of audio signs and the teacher's scaffolding of the use of audio signs. Two research questions guided this study: (a) In what ways did the fifth-grade students use audio signs, specifically transitions sounds, when constructing…

According to a January 2007 survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 55 percent of teens (ages 12 to 17) report having created a personal profile online, and an equal number regularly use social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook. Of those, 91 percent use the sites to stay in touch with friends they see frequently. With all…

This report compares two methods of teaching BASIC programming used to develop computer literacy among children in grades three through seven in British Columbia. Phase one of the project was designed to instruct children in grades five to seven on the arithmetic operations of writing simple BASIC programs. Instructional methods included using job…

This study examines the relationship between high computer access and "student empowerment" at the Nashville, Tennessee, site of the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow (ACOT) project. The study rests on the premise that school learning is a function of the work carried out by students in school, and that schoolwork is experienced by students as…

Designed to develop procedures and acquire information to help decision-makers establish policies for the use of microcomputers for computer-assisted instruction (CAI), this study involved the following steps: (1) a school-based research project was conducted to determine the costs and effects of microcomputer-assisted instruction; (2) an…

This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of a computer literacy program for 4-year-old Head Start students and their teachers that was developed through the efforts of the Indianapolis Head Start program, the Children's Museum, and the Indiana University School of Education. The report covers: (1) the objectives of the program; (2) a…

Students in certain French language schools in eastern Ontario took part in this initial experiment in the teaching of computer and electronic programing at the elementary school level. This project had three objectives for optimizing the pedagogical impact of these first attempts at teaching programing: (1) to describe the context of this initial…

The costs, effects, and utility of mathematics instruction supplemented by microcomputer presentations were compared with those of traditional classroom approaches for grades 3 and 5. The study was completed at a single school in a rural area of Saskatchewan, Canada, where two classrooms at each grade level were used in a pretest-posttest design.…

Computer-based instructional applications are considered an effective alternative to traditional teaching methods and today in numerous educational and training settings, interactive computer programs are used to teach young students and adults computer literacy skills. The purpose of this study is to compare the attitudes and motivations of…

This study conducted at Texas A&M University compares two types of training approaches using ERIC SilverPlatter (ERIC SP). Education students received either: (1) a one hour training session on basic search commands and strategies, or (2) a four page instructional handout that described basic search commands, Boolean logic, and special…

This in-depth review of the literature synthesizes articles and abstracts identified as education-oriented microcomputer research studies published since 1979. A brief, historic overview of educational computing is followed by a review of the Becker (1983) survey, which concerned the distribution of microcomputers in education in the United…

Summarizes results of a University of Nebraska study on effects of different teaching methods on student performance in a computer literacy course for business administration students. Merits and weaknesses of the large class approach--the more successful method--are discussed, and academic achievement as a function of gender is analyzed. (MBR)