Students (n=59, ages 13-22) in classrooms for the educably mentally retarded were interviewed regarding their attitudes toward computer use in school settings. Results showed a variety of complex beliefs and opinions about computer usage. The majority of students liked using computers and felt they learned "more" when they used computers.…

Discusses "Minds and Machines," a one-semester undergraduate course for nontechnical majors. Explains that the course examines how philosophical problems of knowledge, cognition, language, and human nature can be investigated with computer-related concepts and techniques. Describes experiments conducted during the course, including mind…

Presented is an overview of "Boxer," a multipurpose computational user-friendly medium, the focus of this special issue presenting research involving its use. With its roots in LOGO, the design of Boxer is described and an overview of the articles in the issue is given. (MDH)

Provides examples of common administrative tasks in school district offices that can be expedited using an administrative local area network (LAN). Explains how districts should develop a master plan installing a LAN. Figures display the LAN components, planning sheets, and an electrical requirement calculator chart. Discusses site preparation and…

This survey of 68 New York City teachers of students with learning disabilities found a strong correlation between school-provided support systems and frequency of use of technology. Teachers particularly valued in-school teacher training, and they named interactive software as the most desired supplement to available technology. (Author/JDD)

Describes a study of undergraduate students in Wales that was conducted to investigate the relationship between computer attitudes and gender stereotyping of computer use. Use and reliability of the Computer Attitude Scale are discussed, and computer anxiety as a result of stereotyping is considered. (Contains 66 references.) (LRW)

A model is proposed for the influence of individual differences on performance when computer-based technology is introduced. The primary cognitive factor driving differences in performance is spatial visualization ability. Four techniques for mitigating the negative impact of low spatial visualization are discussed: spatial metaphors, graphical…

Describes a training program undertaken by the Kentucky River Foothills Head Start and Eastern Kentucky University that uses a computer-equipped mobile learning lab. The project brings staff training and adult education opportunities to Head Start programs that have limited technological resources. The van contains eight networked computer…

Maintains that the study of signs is divided between those scholars who use the Saussurian binary sign (semiology) and those who prefer the Peirce tripartite sign (semiotics). Concludes that neither the Saussurian nor Peircian analysis methods can produce a semiotic interpretation based on a hierarchy of the text's various components. (CFR)

The article describes how education changed in Russia between 1992 and 1993, noting the change was very noticeable, though numerous and extreme problems remained unresolved with most of the current political regime's reforms not yet reaching working class people. The article also discusses several issues, unrelated to education, in 1993 Russia.…

Describes the Direction 2000 program at Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School in Toronto, which features large subject resource areas instead of classrooms, a schoolwide computer network developed in conjunction with Unisys Canada, computer education across the curriculum, and an automated approach to information retrieval. (DMM)

Two Ball State (Indiana) University divisions, Student Affairs and University Computing Services, joined together to create FastFacts, an online system which makes information on hundreds of topics about campus and local resources, programs, and activities available 24 hours a day via more than 2,000 networked computer terminals throughout the…

Compared the effects of LOGO Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI), and a standard curriculum without computer exposure among grade three Zimbabwean children. No significant differences were found between the groups exposed to LOGO and to CAI, but both achieved significantly greater gains that the groups without computer exposure. Results suggest that…

This study evaluated effects of computer-assisted biofeedback on the electromyographic activity of three students (grades four and six) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Results indicated increased relaxation abilities and, in the case of the one student also observed in the classroom, increased on-task behavior after the biofeedback…

Urges use of computers to find workable Soviet educational theories. Complains of tendencies to indulge in creativity backed by neither experience nor action. Insists that creativity be integrated into professionalism instead of sought as an end in itself consisting of theory without results. Stresses the importance of computer support in…