Explores the subject of software availability, particularly as it relates to higher education. Also discusses computer anxiety, the economics of software development, provision of needed computer skills, lack of economic incentives, and high software prices. The author makes several suggestions for improving the situation. (CT)

Describes the development, implementation, and assessment of an interactive multimedia instruction (IMI) program that used interactive videodisc to teach listening skills. Results of an experimental study with college students at Radford University (Virginia) that tested the effectiveness of the IMI program are discussed, and future applications…

Graphing is a common and powerful symbol system for representing concrete data. Yet research has shown that students often have graphical misconceptions about how graphs are related to the concrete event. Currently, the Technical Education Research Center (TERC) is developing microcomputer-based laboratories (MBL) science units that use probes to…

Describes the development of a Staff Creativity Lab at the University of Arizona library that was designed to help foster an atmosphere that encourages creative thinking by learning to use different microcomputers and new software and to develop new skills over networks. The selection of hardware and software is also discussed. (Contains eight…

This overview of the home market for microcomputers and computer software presents a brief history of the development of the microcomputer and its use in the home. Factors which shape the home market are discussed, e.g., desire for improvement of educational skills, presence of children, previous experience with a computer, and decreasing prices.…

The complexity of the optimization algorithm for staff utilization in any medium to large organization can cause major problems in meeting schedules while still keeping all of the work force in full employment, working at a level appropriate to their experience, and also giving staff an opportunity to develop new skills and experiences that will…

Arguing that females need instruction in visuo-spatial skills before adolescence, when they begin to lag behind males in the development of these skills that are so strongly correlated with success in technical careers, this paper discusses the use of the three-dimensional and spherical graphics of ExperLOGO to develop spatial skills in students…

Outlines research conducted at Brigham Young University to identify effective, efficient computer-based drill and practice instructional strategies for teaching paired associate or multiple discrimination tasks. A sophisticated computer-based drill and practice is contrasted with a simple flashcard strategy. Research supporting the sophisticated…

This document consists of an interim report and a final report which describe the second and third phases of a project designed to determine the utility and utilization of sophisticated hardware and software capabilities known as advanced instructional features (AIFs). Used with an aircrew training device (ATD), AIFs permit a simulator instructor…

The 46 papers in this proceedings summarize the work of academic and private groups which seek to provide a means of integrating the utilization of the computer into an established curriculum; descriptions of sample courses are included. The contents include: (1) Four Precollege Computer Curricula: A Symposium; (2) Data Processing Management…

The author reports on the efforts to put 4,000 microcomputers into the Broward County (Florida) Schools in a two-year period. He discusses choosing hardware, teacher training, integrating Florida high technology companies' employee requirements into the vocational curriculum, articulation at the secondary and postsecondary levels, equipment…

Proposes use of computer simulations to help students build reading comprehension skills, and describes an existing simulation which requires readers to interact with text to accomplish some purpose. Differences between teaching reading skills with simulations and the way they are traditionally taught, and future potential of reading simulations…

This article describes 6 of the 17 school computer projects awarded $600,000 in microcomputer equipment and software in the "Wheels for the Mind" program established by Apple Education Affairs. Apple would provide advanced courses for rural schools, set up an intercultural network, develop reasoning skills, train teachers, and create…

This annotated bibliography describes materials available for computer-assisted instruction in home economics. These materials are competency based and may be used with regular, disadvantaged, handicapped, and limited-English-speaking students. All areas of home economics are represented. Materials for inclusion in this bibliography were located…

Before students can use microcomputers effectively, they need keyboarding skills. A project was conducted in Montana to teach keyboarding to fourth-grade children using computer-assisted instruction. Two fourth-grade classes at Hawthorne Elementary School, Bozeman, Montana, participated in an 8-week, 32-session elementary keyboarding pilot…