Examines GTE (Generic Tutoring Environment) from an authoring perspective, describes how GTE may be used to create courseware, and reviews potential difficulties that authors face when using such a tool. Summarizes two studies that investigated how authors used GTE and concludes that GTE designs are difficult for authors to test and evaluate.…

This study investigated the effects of subject and teaching experience on confidence in computing among teachers in Lebanese schools when using common computer software applications. Results showed significantly different levels of confidence depending on subject, and teachers with more experience had lower levels of confidence. (Author/LRW)

Describes how novice software designers interpreted usability sessions and how the designers responded to users' reactions to their prototypes. Describes qualitative analysis of class projects, usability sessions, and interviews with graduate students and proposes recommendations on how to improve the training of educational software developers.…

In this paper, we present our experiences in using two automatic assessment tools, TRAKLA and TRAKLA2, in a second course of programming. In this course, 500-700 students have been enrolled annually during the period 1993-2004. The tools are specifically designed for assessing algorithm simulation exercises in which students simulate the working…

Effective teaching should focus the attention of learners to its essential aspects. It follows that instructional software can be designed in such a way that allows learners to experience the important variations in the critical aspects of the content to be learned. This paper reports on the experience of designing such special kinds of…

The role played by Big6 Turbo Tools in helping students with Location and Access is highlighted. The functions of the Dictionary, Planner, TurboWrite, WebLinks and the Bulletin Board are explained.

Two technology guidelines are contributed by Robin Rider of East Carolina University based on the TI-Interactive software she had introduced. The two guidelines to use for this software consist firstly of data gathering with a Calculator-Based Laboratory (CBL) and Calculator-Based Ranger (CBR) without a graphing calculator, and secondly the…

Educational institutions may choose to make a course available via the Internet for various reasons including cost reduction, a potential increase in student enrollment, to remain competitive and "cutting edge" in the market, or to reach a global student population. The designer's approach toward the development of the course is critical because…

A review is undertaken of what different commentators have written about the evaluation of educational courseware in higher education. Speculation is made on the reasons for the lack of such evaluations. The role of checklists for evaluating online courseware is discussed despite the acknowledged limitations. Checklists have been developed at…

When Blackboard unveiled its U.S. patent for 44 features of learning management systems and then filed a patent infringement suit against Design2Learn, the response of the educational technology community was negative and swift. Stephen Downes discusses why many educators oppose Blackboard's proprietary claims to technologies long considered in…

The Languages Review Consultation Report recommends exploiting the potential of communications technology for the enhancement of curricular offerings. Newly developed instructional software is credited with opening doors to the cultures of young people while serving as an infinitely patient and supportive tutor. Thus, in the UK as in the US,…

This study assessed the effectiveness of computer-based biomolecular visualization activities on the development of high school biology students' representational competence as a means of understanding and visualizing protein structure/function relationships. Also assessed were students' attitudes toward these activities. Sixty-nine students…

For the thirty-third year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the national AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

The professoriate is increasingly expected to infuse computer technology in teaching. However, there is dearth of qualitative data to either support or disprove this belief. This study thus aims to describe the experiences of a select group of college teachers as they develop, implement and evaluate their courseware materials. Ten tenured faculty…

This dissertation sought to answer the question: Is it possible to build a software tool that will allow teachers to write better multiple-choice questions? The thesis proceeded from the finding that the quality of teaching is very influential in the amount that students learn. A basic premise of this research, then, is that improving teachers…