The guidelines in this article help in developing educational software. The first rule is that educators should not develop software for education, but should develop an "educational system" that uses software. The distinction is that the former is primarily concerned with the computer and its requirements while the latter focuses on…

Discusses a computer software program called "The Author" which allows computer-assisted instruction lessons to be written by an instructor with no programing experience. The authoring system provides printed formatting sheets which enable the instructor to write out lesson text, questions, and instructions prior to entering them on the…

Explains the role of authoring languages in the development of courseware material for use in computer-assisted instruction and describes examples available on small, medium, and large computers with emphasis on the language/author interface. Briefly considers authoring language evaluation, system integration, and distribution of courseware. 82…

Discusses a computer-assisted instruction authoring aid called PROFORMA which converts ordinary text into output on a computer screen in a format which contains, as desired, framed tables, reverse video, boldface print, moving text, and question-and-answer sequences. Use of PROFORMA in the teaching of French is discussed. (Author/JJD)

This manual presents an overview of the PILOT educational computer language, a simplified teacher-directed alternative to the use of BASIC for designing computer assisted instruction, and provides examples to illustrate its features. These features are described in terms of format, labels, numeric variables, alphanumeric variables, system…

Reviews an authoring system for courseware development (Applesoft Basic) consisting of a programed template allowing preparation of instructional units composed of text, questions, and graphics. A higher-priced version includes a game. Geology, oceanography, space science, meteorology, human/plant anatomy, and cells/genetics diagrams are available…

Created to help teachers develop, evaluate, and use computer-assisted instruction (CAI), this guide is intended for "first-time" CAI authors who do not program. (As used here, an author is the teacher who designs and develops objectives and content and creates learning strategies for CAI.) Content of the guide is organized into the five…

An analysis of portions of the HumRRO (Human Resources Research Organization) developed computer-assisted instruction (CAI) course in COBOL programing, and a survey of representatives from Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) PLATO IV installations indicated a need for authoring aids that could be prepared and programed easily and quickly. The…

A group of academic staff at the Open University with little computer experience developed a computer program for instruction. Reasons for its inclusion in the course, procedures for its adoption, and initial evaluation are described. The course was one in research methods in education and the social sciences. (MSE)

Technical aspects of the PLATO system, the language work done on PLATO thus far (specifically in foreign languages), and areas for further research in computer-based language instruction are reviewed. PLATO-IV, designed and implemented by the Computer-Based Educational Research Laboratory of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is…