While the World Wide Web offers a unique opportunity to introduce computer-assisted instruction (CAI) into the medical school curriculum, efforts to exploit this potential may fail because CAI is not fully integrated into the system, logistical and equipment problems raise barriers, students are not tested appropriately, network response time is…

A study compared student perceptions of the effectiveness of computer-assisted simulation and computer graphics with that of laboratory classes in teaching organ-bath techniques in pharmacology. Students found definite benefits in computer-assisted instruction to supplement laboratory practicals, with noticeable increase in understanding of…

Describes how beginning language learners generated electronic mail in a foreign language, Spanish, and what the resulting texts looked like. The study uncovered different, contrastive writing behaviors and a diversity of texts and suggests that communicative activities in the language classroom pose dilemmas for students. (39 references)…

Reports on a use of computer-aided instruction and multimedia technology in an outpatient library to meet the information needs of people who have severe and persistent mental illnesses. Topics include funding, special needs related to schizophrenia, computers in mental health rehabilitation, collection development, and library usage. (Author/LRW)

Explores mind/media relationships and discusses how culture's symbolic forms affect learning and thinking. The socially held and communicated views of various media appear to affect the way children handle them, the depth of their information processing, and what they actually learn from them. Media's symbolic forms of representation have both…

Reviews empirical studies from a wide variety of fields to show that computer-based multimedia instruction may be able to help people learn more information more quickly compared to traditional classroom lecture. Topics include interactivity; control of learning pace; novelty; and learners with low prior knowledge or aptitude. (103 references)…

In machine-mediated learning environments, there is a need for more reliable methods of calculating the probability that a learner's response will be correct in future trials. A combination of domain-independent response-state measures of cognition along with two instructional variables for maximum predictive ability are demonstrated. (Author/LRW)

Describes a curriculum-integrated library program that involved elementary students from different grades using multimedia to develop thematic projects. Offers suggestions for planning and supervising activities and describes sample projects for selected grades. (AEF)

Examines current interest in computer technology in education, posing important questions to consider (what computers offer, whether technology use is consistent with contemporary learning theories, whether technology effectively promotes change, whether technology is synonymous with good teaching, whether technology promotes critical thinking,…

A study evaluated the use of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) to provide training in phonological sensitivity skills to 45 preschool children at-risk for reading problems. Children exposed to CAI made significantly greater gains on rhyming and elision skills compared to controls. Expressive vocabulary scores were predictive of pre- to posttest…

Examines synchronous computer-mediated communication used in a university environment. Compared the level of participation among students and contrasted their written German chatroom discourse with their oral discourse produced in small face-to-face discussion groups. (Author/VWL)

Presents a comparative analysis from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Learning Technology Standards Committee's (LTSC) of the architectural and functional design of e-learning delivery platforms and applications, e-learning course authoring tools, and learning management systems (LMSs), with a view of assessing how…

Describes a study that investigated the differential effects of Computer Algebra Systems (CAS) and metacognitive training (META) on mathematical reasoning. Participants were 83 Israeli eighth-grade students. Results showed that CAS embedded within META significantly outperformed the META and CAS alone conditions, which in turn significantly…

Reports on a study that investigated the collaborative interaction patterns exhibited by five-year-old preprimary children in a multimedia educational computer environment in Perth, Australia. Discusses software appropriateness; preexisting computer competency and computer attitudes; friendship between collaborators; social goals; learning…

A teacher reflects on experiences teaching an online master's in ESOL program, offering insights about how the mode made her teach in less traditional ways, deal with more probing questions, and reconceptualize the roles of formal and informal text. (Author/VWL)