Reports on the development and evaluation of "Practicing Spoken French," a multimedia HyperCard-based program designed to assess the effects of subtitled video on oral communicative performance of undergraduate students of French. Implications for computer-assisted language learning design and research are suggested. (Contains 31…

Discusses formative evaluation of courseware and describes a study of undergraduates that compared the effects of two methods of formative evaluation on the revision of a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) program written in HyperCard. Use of the one-to-one method and the small group method of evaluation are explained, and posttest scores are…

To assist instructors with software development efforts, the Behavioral Learning Center at Pennsylvania State University's Smeal College of Business implemented a method to pilot test instructional software. The developed method was required to collect multichanneled information and was not limited to students' verbal responses to questions.…

Demonstrates the use of simulation systems for studying diagnostic problem solving and presents results from two empirical studies in which undergraduates diagnosed faults that occurred in a computer-based, dynamic simulation. Discusses dual problem space search that includes generating and testing hypotheses; suggests implications for designing…

Explores current options for using the World Wide Web and interactive media for undergraduate recruiting. Discusses some technological issues concerning market penetration of technologies, and explores the issue of return on investment. Currently available data do not support spending a lot of money on Web pages, although CD-ROM or floppy disks…

With the development of Career Oasis, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM ) has pioneered the use of computer-based career guidance in Saudi Arabia. KFUPM contracted with Verbal Media, LLC, an American consulting company, to create a resource that would be available in both Arabic and English, in both online and paper-and-pencil…

Examines the effective use of computers in an undergraduate classroom based on the needs and desires of multiple-interest groups: students, instructors, support staff, administrators, software developers, publishers, and faculty colleagues. Suggests that the successful integration of technology will meet the needs of each group. (Author/LRW)

Reports on a study of undergraduates at the University of Strathclyde (Scotland) that was designed to explore computer support for peer-based learning in methodology tutorials. Describes software that was developed to organize group discussion and discusses student ratings of their reactions to the software and to the tutorial sessions. (Contains…

Describes a study of undergraduates that compared three strategies for indicating links in a hypermedia system to determine their effect on learner navigation and learner perceptions of ease of use. Highlights include three linking display types; the density of links; elaboration types; time intervals; and implications for hypermedia system…

Describes a study of 61 undergraduates that investigated the effects of hypermedia content-structure focusing on learner's structural knowledge acquisition, retention, and disorientation. Use of a Completely Randomized Multivariate Analysis of Variance design for hypothesis testing is explained and implications for hypermedia design are discussed.…

Discussion of the use of computer simulation for laboratory experiments in undergraduate engineering education focuses on work at the University of New South Wales in the instructional design and software development of a package simulating a heat exchange device. The importance of integrating theory, design, and experimentation is also discussed.…

Discussion of how to teach decision-making skills to undergraduate engineering design students highlights a computer-based decision support tool, WOMBAT (Weighted Objectives Method by Arguing with the Tutor). Changes in WOMBAT from an earlier version are described, and an example of dialog between a user and the system is included. (Contains 24…

Introduces the concept of abductive reasoning; discusses its importance for instructional designers in education; and describes the development of a computer program called the Abductive Reasoning Tool (ART) that helps students learn and understand abductive logic. Highlights include abduction and creativity, and field-testing ART with…

A study of 89 computer programming students in two instructional groups found that those using Visual Basic (VB) mastered programming design concepts as well as those using traditional BASIC. Concludes that VB is an excellent choice for a first programming course (high school or university) emphasizing sequence, selection, iteration, variables,…

Describes a study of undergraduates at Aston University (United Kingdom) that investigated whether maps were an appropriate navigational aid for searching in a hypertext environment. Task performance, system use, previous computer experience, perceptions of the system, and cognitive map data are examined; and implications for hypertext system…