This special theme issue is dedicated to topics related to courseware in higher education. Aspects addressed include faculty development of software; new technologies and their effects on knowledge; microcomputer-based software; courseware publishing; information sharing and software distribution; and future teaching and research projects. (LRW)

The use of personal computers by juniors and faculty at Clarkson University, an engineering college, was investigated in December 1985 as a followup to a 1984 study. Starting in August 1983, the university required entering freshmen to purchase their own personal computer, the Zenith Data System Z-100. Randomly selected, a total of 15 faculty…

The impact of growing numbers of personal computers at Dartmouth College was assessed. During one academic year (1984- 1985), the number of personal computers (mostly Macintoshes) grew from less than 50 to almost 2,000. The assessment focused on three areas: purchase and admissions data, student life, and the curriculum. Tentative findings…

In 1980, Wichita State University received a grant to introduce microcomputers as interactive teaching tools in large science classrooms. Through this grant, 18 faculty in 11 departments developed software modules illustrating concepts that are often difficult to teach by usual lecture methods. To determine whether the use of microcomputers in…