Examines the relative merits of using computer networks (several computers linked together and sharing a single disk drive) and stand-alone systems (self-contained units operating independently) in Australian primary school classrooms. Advances several arguments favoring stand-alone systems, which improve accessibility and enhance individual…

The advantages of microcomputer networks include resource sharing, multiple user communications, and integrating data processing and office automation. This article nonetheless favors stand-alone computers for Australian secondary school classrooms because of unreliable hardware, software design, and copyright problems, and individual progress…

Observations in Australian classrooms suggest that for most teachers the content and method of curriculum has changed little as a result of the proliferation of new information technologies. In many instances there has been considerable resistance and reluctance to embrace the use of new technologies to support the teaching and learning process.…

Investigates the use of personal computer (PC) programs to help participants in simulation exercises transform their experiences into knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Six programs developed at Queensland Institute of Technology are described that involve operations management, strategic management, and macroeconomics. Examples of spreadsheets are…

Australian researchers examined a computer adventure game's potential to provide worthwhile learning experiences by videotaping elementary students at play. Results indicated students learned about computers, read, had fun, and solved problems, but the game did not meet specified criteria for a worthwhile educational experience. (SM)

Schools throughout Australia both teach about computers and use computers as a medium for teaching at all levels of the educational system, but teachers use the computer to support existing pedagogic practice rather than looking to the computer as an agent of curriculum change. Drawing in a descriptive way upon a number of recent studies and…

Issues and solutions in teaching and learning in higher education are addressed in 28 papers and 6 workshop reports from a 1982 conference of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia. Papers are grouped under the major categories of staff development, course evaluation, teaching and learning, and microcomputers in…

Topics discussed in 14 papers concerned with software design, curriculum development, evaluation, and intelligent systems include teaching and learning systems, development of computer-assisted learning (CAL) courseware (music and reading), evaluation of CAL packages for mastery learning and modelling, assessment of CAL in physics and the primary…

Discusses developments in computer education at the elementary secondary level in Tasmania, South Australia, and West Australia. Six references are listed. (LLS)

Describes the development of a computer assisted instruction (CAI) package for use in teaching basic aspects of legal research. The discussion covers implementation of effective CAI techniques, identification of learning principles applicable to the design of the program, and the feasibility of converting practical aspects of learning principles…

This book recounts what happened when a set of 25 laptop computers was introduced into each of 10 Australian schools (Camberwell, Anglican Girls Grammar School; Caulfield Grammar School; Frankston High School; Jamieson Park Secondary College; Kilvington Baptist Girls Grammar School; Korowa Anglican Girls' School; Mallacoota P-12 College; Methodist…

A project was conducted to increase the use of microcomputers in basic adult education in Australia. The aims of the project were as follows: to establish an information network of practitioners working within Australia's Technical and Further Education (TAFE) system who have an interest in using computer-assisted learning in basic adult…

This paper provides case studies that report on an ethnographic action research study to investigate the potential of the combination of wireless networking and portable computing at a primary school in Australia. Discusses student research projects, personal Web pages, making digital movies, student evaluations, and results of student interviews.…

Educational applications of computing are reviewed, beginning with a brief introduction to microcomputers and microcomputer characteristics that might be important for school use. An examination of significant models in computer education outside Australia emphasizes projects in the United Kingdom, France, and the United States, including the…

Microcomputers are advocated as a primary teaching tool for independent and correspondence study, provided suitable software is available and consideration is given to initial student attitudes, peculiarities in computer communication, and the low predictive power of psychological tests in computer-based learning. (Author/MSE)