Discusses methods that software evaluation organizations use to evaluate instructional software. Topics addressed include who does the evaluating, including the role of students as well as teachers, subject matter experts, media specialists, and school administrators; reliability of evaluations; and possible improvements in the evaluation process.…

Discusses the use of open software, i.e., software which is essentially empty of content and can be customized by users to fit their own context, and describes the development and evaluation of one such program--Bubble Dialog--by the Language Development and Hypermedia Research Group at the University of Ulster. Various applications of the…

Microcomputer installation in schools has increased annually since 1983, and microcomputers are now utilized throughout Japan's educational system, both in elementary and secondary classrooms and for educational research. Most of the computer software used in computer-assisted instruction is acquired externally, as opposed to developing the…

Urges sociologists to direct more attention toward computer usage because of computers' increasing importance in producing sociological knowledge. Criticizes professional ambivalence toward computer technology as inhibiting creative software development and adequate training of sociologists in computer methods. Concludes that sociology's…

Computerized pupil transportation systems offer promising benefits to school districts. Outlines ways school administrators can select the right product by following some traditional business approaches. (MLF)

This article reviews technological advances in educational computer use and discusses applications for computers as tools, tutors, and tutees in mathematics education of gifted students. Computer-assisted instruction, artificial intelligence, multimedia, numeric processing, computer-aided design, LOGO, robotics, and hypercard software packages are…

InSight, a series of 10 HyperCard stacks, provides optometry students with first-hand experience with a number of visual phenomena and a variety of experimental data acquisition and analysis techniques. Each stack contains background information on the experiment topic, instructions, references to the literature, and questions to be answered.…

This article utilizes several examples to describe the use of MathCAD, a computer scratchpad for calculations, within a lecture-demonstration method of teaching general calculus. Both hardware requirements and software features are discussed specifically related to the proper design of student worksheets with emphasis on parameter variation. (JJK)

An intermediate school teacher describes a successful integrated curriculum unit that taught students basic geography, technology, and writing skills as they pretended to travel across the United States. The project required a large map, a resource library, a computer, and word processing, database, spreadsheet, and drawing software. (SM)

Describes computer simulation programs that take elementary and secondary students exploring. One has students act as Magellan commanding his ship to reinforce history, geography, decision-making, and resource management skills. Another has students use problem-solving skills to venture across oceans and find trading routes to the Orient. (SM)

Describes five educational restructuring projects that have been taking place in the Alhambra School District in California. Includes descriptions of literature instruction, multimedia research in high school social science, notebook computers and high school at-risk students, LogoWriter for grades 7-8, and interactive video for fourth graders.…

Discussed are the developments in neural networks technology that promise to make computers a great deal smarter. The brain is described, and its workings are compared to that of a computer. Computer programs that allow the construction of a simulated neural network are discussed and evaluated. (KR)

The use of contingency tables in creating a statistical profile of a college student population is explained. The method provides simultaneous cross-indexed frequency distribution of two database fields. Common uses are discussed, and application is illustrated in a hypothetical student retention study. Extensions for nonnumerical fields and…

Describes a student-centered software package designed at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin to support student writing by helping students generate ideas, improve organization and development, and improve editing capabilities. Describes UT's basic writers and presents findings from the classroom research-based program evaluation. (DMM)

This paper reports the success of using authoring languages on master's degree courses at Manchester University, England. Three different packages are described, including their strengths and weaknesses. The role of such packages in teacher training is also highlighted. (11 references) (JL)