Standardized achievement tests as measures of school performance are an inescapable fact of life in U.S. public education. Critics of such tests hold that U.S. education policy has made achievement test scores more important than achievement itself. "No Child Left Behind," the centerpiece of the Bush Administration's domestic agenda, places a…

Discusses the use of multimedia software and the need to apply constructivist theories so students become more involved with the software, progressing from simply watching presentations to creating simulations. A project-based learning environment that uses MicroWorlds software is described that focuses on marine biology and oceanography. (LRW)

Discusses writing instruction and the use of educational computer programs; provides a theoretical framework that includes cognitive tool partnerships, learning theory, writing research, and the Vygotskian theory of mediated learning; and describes a prompting tool that used the macro language of IBM's WordPerfect with college and middle school…

This constructivist teaching experiment investigated the role of whole-number knowledge in fraction learning. Two nine-year-old students worked for one year with a computer program (Copycat) and demonstrated that the development of whole-number knowledge and rational-number knowledge is interdependent. Contains 59 references. (KMC)

Describes the educational philosophy and decisions that shaped development of an electronic reader's edition of James Madison's notes on the debates of the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. Discusses the role of hypermedia in history instruction. %Illustrates and explains the design of the resource. (PAL)

Discusses instructional design, focusing on the use of instructional tactics and their effects on cognitive processes. Describes a study of undergraduates using computer programs that investigated whether the effectiveness of an instructional adjunct, in this case maps, may sometimes be undermined when used concurrently with another instructional…

Discusses the role of the teacher in effectively using technology in education based on the Technology Integration Project (TIP). Topics include why use technology; types of computer software; how to select software; software integration strategies; and effectively planning lessons that integrate the chosen software and integration strategy. (LRW)

This exploratory study investigated the influence of two recreational computer games on children's subsequent performance on computer-based instructional tasks. Examined speed, correct solutions, and cognitive processes; and suggests that the extent of recreational game influence depends on how closely the game type matches the design of the tasks…

Discusses the concept of intelligence and the extent to which it is present in intelligent tutoring systems and intelligent computer-assisted instruction. Topics discussed include courseware evaluation; artificial intelligence; the degree of learner control; knowledge acquisition; fault tolerance; and feedback and self-evaluation. (23 references)…

A nationwide search to locate noncommercial instructional software appropriate for students with severe, multiple handicaps found 46 Apple II programs. Common curriculum areas were cause-and-effect training, language and communication, and cognitive development. Authoring programs were common, whereas academic programs were rare. The most typical…

This article identifies realistic, research-based computer simulations that are capable of stimulating student decision making. Also discussed is a recent category of computer programs, probeware. Students use a sensing device (probe) to measure physical characteristics and transmit results to a computer which collects, stores, and displays the…

Describes a quality control system for a curriculum-based, computer-based instruction (CBI) program that was developed by Florida State University's Center for Educational Technology (CET) for the U. S. Army's Job Skills Education Program (JSEP). Flow charts are presented and explained for each stage of the system. (six references) (LRW)

Describes activities that present concepts and applications of artificial intelligence (AI) for elementary and secondary school students. The use of Logo with elementary students is discussed; appropriate software is described; programing activities using Logo, BASIC, and Prolog are examined; and the field of robotics is discussed. (four…

Proposes 13 trends that educational software development should follow. Four main areas are considered: (1) the computing environment, including hardware and networking; (2) software design, including learner control and hypermedia; (3) the user, or learner, including group activities; and (4) the software development process, including…

Discussion of the use of computer aided instruction (CAI) and instructional software in college level courses highlights an automatic problem generator, AUTOGEN, that was written for computer science students learning assembly language. Design of the software is explained, and student responses are reported. (nine references) (LRW)