Desired characteristics of the academic process are discussed, including assessment of fundamental values and assumptions, clarification of short-range objectives, the importance of data collection, the determination of institutional priorities and strategies for implementation, and the value of a continuous and open planning process. (Editor/JT)

Discussing the application of adult learning principles to professional social work education, the author contends that until adult learners design their own courses, a balance should be struck between that knowledge and responsibility deemed essential by the school and that which the learner considers important. (Editor/JT)

The present paper looks at the historical background of education in the universities. We take the developments in the use of instructional technology (instructional design, instructional media design, and process of the instructional design) into consideration and explore the tertiary level students' (studying at the Faculty of Communication and…

Independent study professionals have grown out of a largely clerical environment and are sometimes not part of upper hierarchies. Though mid-level within distance learning administration, their educational and technical competencies afford a certain power over curriculum content and format, also suggesting an important place in establishing…

This overview of distance education in the present and future begins by defining the concept of home study and briefly tracing its history from the 19th century to the present. Several distance education institutions around the world are mentioned, including Great Britain's Open University. In the United States, the work of the…

This final report summarizes work done to formulate and test some cognitively-based principles useful for designing instruction in scientific or engineering fields. These principles stress the coherence and interpretability of the knowledge acquired by students. The principles were specifically applied to: (1) analyze the underlying knowledge and…

This paper addresses the numerous ways that computers may be used to enhance the teaching of accounting and business topics. It focuses on the pedagogical use of spreadsheet software to improve the conceptual coverage of accounting principles and practice, increase student understanding by involvement in the solution process, and reduce the amount…

Written in ADA language, SAIDA, a Help System for Data Implementation, is an experimental teaching and learning environment which uses artificial intelligence techniques to teach a computer science course on abstract data representations. The application domain is teaching advanced programming concepts which have not received much attention from…

A computer-assisted instructional program, which was developed for teaching beginning computer maintenance to employees of Unisys, covered external hardware maintenance, proper diskette care, making software backups, and electro-static discharge prevention. The procedure used in developing the program was based upon the Dick and Carey (1985) model…

This study investigated the effects of a minimal manual version versus a cards version of documentation on students' computing behaviors while learning to use a telecommunication system (Appleshare), students' attitudes toward the documentation, and students' later use of the system. Guidelines from the work of Carroll and colleagues at the IBM…

This report describes Palenque, an interactive, multimedia, optical disc research prototype developed for home use by 8- to 14-year-old children and their families. The report begins by providing an overview of the project, which is followed by a discussion of the target audience and context for use of the videodisc. A discussion of learning…

Noting some of the major problems with current design experiments in education, a project has been undertaken with the long-term goal of constructing a systematic science of how to design educational environments so that new technologies can be introduced successfully. This paper outlines several factors considered to be critical in developing a…

Based on the findings of a content analysis of representative literature on educational technology, this report examines the trends and issues in the field, beginning in 1988 and continuing into 1989. It is noted that trend analysis, particularly year-to-year analysis which reveals less variability than decade-to-decade analysis, reveals topics of…

This paper reports on an empirical study of educators' perceptions of learning concepts, reviews the cognitive learning literature, and argues for an expanded view of conceptual knowledge and its role in education and training. The report begins with discussions of changing views of concept learning and declarative and procedural components of…

Two research studies were designed to examine computer anxiety in teacher education students at West Virginia University. The studies explored the relationship between computer anxiety and performance, and the effects of both prior computer use and the instructional format on computer anxiety and performance. The first study was performed as part…