This report presents case studies on the use of satellites for education in five Commonwealth countries: Australia, Canada, India, Fiji, and Jamaica. Information provided in each of the case studies includes geography, production, the distribution system, regulation and management, and costs. Additional information given for the Australian…

The final evaluation of BESTNET (the Binational English and Spanish Telecommunications Network) is described. Undertaken as a collaborative effort to experiment with new telecommunications media in distance education and to attract Hispanic students into the science and engineering fields, the project involved the development of a number of…

Technology has the potential to make a significant impact on education at all learning levels, but it will be only as powerful as the degree to which it is integrated effectively into the total instructional program. Educators responsible for effective instruction must assume leadership in achieving this goal. This paper describes the background,…

The first of two volumes in these proceedings contains the text (or, in a very few cases, an abstract) of 157 papers on the use of technology at all levels of education, including elementary, secondary, and higher education. These papers were presented in 54 topic sessions and two plenary sessions. Themes of the sessions include: (1) educational…

Computer Algebra Systems (CAS) are computer systems for the exact solution of problems in symbolic form. The newspaper is designed to serve as a conduit for information and ideas on the use of CAS in education, especially in lower division college and university courses. Articles included are about CAS programs in several colleges, experiences…

It is argued that in order to make computer assisted instruction effective in the schools, educators should pay more attention to implementation issues (including modifying teacher attitudes, changing classroom routines, and offering realistic technical training and support) and to producing understandable product and performance evaluations.…

It is argued that the three basic issues that have typically been the concern of formative evaluation (comprehensibility, appeal, and usefulness) tell us very little about the role that an instructional product can play in the ongoing environment of the classroom. The focus in this paper is on the field test, i.e., on research situated within the…

To compare information about the uses of computers in composition in representative universities, this document reports on a study that gathered data from teachers, administrators, and students at 10 universities by means of questionnaires and interviews by letter, by phone, and in person during visits to campus computer labs and classrooms. The…

Writers who compose on computers have often complained of the difficulty they have in evaluating and correcting their work on the screen, particularly if the changes necessary are large, structural ones. A study of six freshman composition students and five writers experienced with computer writing examined how each used hard copy printouts of…

This paper describes a training program which was designed to train teachers how to use computer applications such as database management systems and spreadsheets in their classrooms; how to modify applications according to their teaching practices; and how to learn from their experiences in using computer applications in the classroom. A group of…

Three studies of cooperative problem solving among university students examined how to design effective computer-based support for collaborative learning in distance education. The first was a questionnaire study of 150 Open University students who had participated in three different courses in physics and mathematics. Its aim was to determine…

A project was conducted to train Pennsylvania vocational educators to manage, develop, and evaluate interactive video and computer-assisted instruction (CAI). Activities included a day-long workshop that consisted of a general introduction session and small group sessions to provide hands-on experience with interactive video software, an overview…

Designed to help educators and policymakers consider the effective use of currently-evolving distance learning technologies, this policy brief examines: (1) the need for distance learning; (2) the most promising combinations of technologies (two-way television, one-way television with audio return, and audiographics); (3) the cost-effectiveness of…

Project PRIDE (Providing Resources and Information Designed to Educate) is an after school tutorial program for approximately 70 grade 7 to 9 Hispanic junior high school students attending the School District of the City of Saginaw. The project is intended to provide an after school center for help with school work. The instructional goals include…

A study examined the effect on reading achievement, mathematics achievement, and ACT scores when computer based instruction (CBI) was compressed into a 6-week period of time. In addition, the effects of learning style and receptive language deficits on these scores were studied. Computer based instruction is a primary source of instruction that…