Discusses learner/computer interaction, learner control, sequencing of instructional events, and graphic screen design as effective principles for the design of instructional software, including tutorials. (MBR)

Describes an attempt to build a computer-assisted language instruction program which can trap and comment on grammatical errors such as subject/verb agreement by a purely syntactic analysis, that is, without recourse to word meanings. The program aims to increase educational effectiveness and to reduce the number of separate stored answers.…

Presents an experiment which assessed the effectiveness of teaching written French to university students with computer assisted instruction (CAI). Results indicate that the CAI drill and practice lessons didn't effect any greater achievement improvement than ordinary instruction, but students had favorable attitudes toward CAI. (MBR)

Describes the development of a set of training modules based on the learning by example paradigm, with modules differing in the degree of guidance offered to the learner. The program structure is outlined, and three kinds of loops used to adapt the program to the learner's performance are discussed. (MBR)

Presents a list of published (or soon to be published) computer assisted instructional programs for biology. The programs vary considerably in terms of intended age/ability level, complexity and depth, and in content. No attempt is made to judge the quality of items in the list. (JN)

The Spanish National Distance Education University (UNED) Model is presented in which traditional distance courses are complemented by CiberUNED services. The methodology used from the teacher's point of view is analysed and an overview of the strategies that has been emphasized using virtual courses are presented. Distance teaching guidelines has…

This report interprets data about student and teacher technology use to portray what is happening in Idaho classrooms and to provide guidance for future funding decisions. It brings together several data sets, including a statewide Idaho School Technology Inventory, standardized tests of student achievement, and a teacher survey that has been used…

This paper addresses the difficult issues of balancing faculty and university rights and responsibilities regarding courseware and courseware modules developed as both commissioned and non-commissioned works. The ways in which this debate affects those who are engaged in building their own online courses for their universities, courseware…

This report describes a detailed, multi-site evaluation of ConStatS, a curricular software package for helping students conceptualize introductory statistics. ConStatS employs a novel approach for forcing students into an active, experimental style of learning. This evaluation allowed an assessment of the degree to which curricular software helps…

Creating educational software generally requires a great deal of computer expertise, and as a result, educators lacking such knowledge have largely been excluded from the design process. Recently, researchers have been designing tools for automating some aspects of building instructional applications. These tools typically aim for generality,…

This paper addresses the lack of evaluative resources for computer-assisted reading and writing instruction (CARWI). It begins by discussing the benefits, drawbacks, and effectiveness of computer-based instruction. It then describes types of CARWI packages, including: (1) writing process software; (2) electronic handbooks; (3) interactive…

This article is a primer for educators hoping to choose instructional software for their classrooms. The following four basic principles that all quality educational software has in common are discussed: (1) an adherence to learning theory, including behavioral and cognitive theory; (2) employment of gaming features; (3) culturally sensitive…

The purpose of this paper is to describe the pedagogical background and design rationale of ITCOLE (Innovative Technology for Collaborative Learning) software. The ITCOLE software is a highly scalable and easy to use modular environment that supports students' joint efforts to build knowledge together, whether they are primary, secondary, or older…

This paper discusses the development and implementation of a computer-based directed study preservice teacher education course. Specifically, it explains the procedures followed to create the ten multimedia CD-ROMs that comprise the course, and how preservice teachers use the CD-ROMs. Topics to be covered include (1) rationale for course creation;…

Regulatory agencies around the world require that those involved in producing pharmaceutical products be adequately trained. E-learning can accomplish this, providing consistent delivery and learner assessment. However, there are some unique expectations that regulators and the pharmaceutical industry have of e-learning solutions. These include…