The nature of computer instruction that emphasizes student programing in elementary school settings is detailed. Several reasons for the approach taken are given and constraints that those who want to start elementary computer programs must deal with are noted. The receptiveness of girls to computers in elementary grades is noted. (MP)

To help overcome their "computer anxiety," college faculty participants in a computer literacy workshop were allowed to keep a microcomputer at home during the 10 week workshop. Weekly meetings consisted primarily of answering questions, demonstrating new/interesting Atari programs, and discussing potential of the computer as an…

Studied the efforts of Hong Kong to embrace information technology (IT) in education, focusing on a survey of IT skills and attitudes among four cohorts of incoming college freshmen. Findings for 2,330 students over the 4 years show that in each successive year freshmen report higher levels of computer skills and greater confidence in using…

Studied the perceptions of first and second year college students about their preparedness and technical competence at college entry to use the computer and software applications. Survey responses from 338 students suggest that entering students felt better prepared than second year thought they had been, and that all students make gains over time…

The Education Express, a state-of-the-art mobile classroom, brings computer training to rural training sites in Schuyler, Chemung, and Tioga Counties--the Southern Tier of New York. Clients include nurses, other workers, senior citizens, and GED students, who lack access to such trainings because of financial, time, or distance constraints.…

The Shelter Society is a grassroots mental health consumers organization whose members sought access to the Internet and instigated a computer training program to improve their self-advocacy skills. The program fostered a sense of empowerment and prepared participants to make informed decisions. (SK)

Discussion of computer usage and familiarity focuses on an empirical study of college students that investigated the relationship between computer familiarity and cognitive ability. Results are reported that indicate a positive correlation between high scores on cognitive ability tests and computer usage, but no gender differences are reported.…

Although content-based instruction may eventually produce the same quality of learning as skill-based training, the latter produces results more quickly because skills are practiced earlier. Commonly used for teaching computer skills, the skill-based approach has other applications such as accelerated language learning and the Yamaha method of…

Three students (aged 14-15) with severe handicaps were trained in independent use of a microcomputer, using a variation of the total task chaining procedure. All students were able to complete all necessary steps for computer use in an average of 16 sessions, thus expanding their available instructional and recreational opportunities. (Author/PB)

Traces the early history of the electronic digital computer and the viewpoints held concerning the computer from its inception to its present status. Highlights three key words ("mimesis,""topic," and "decorum") to develop the rhetoricality of the personal computer as a communications device. (KEH)

Analyzes the discourse of Logo lessons and suggests that successful learning of Logo concepts may involve a careful structuring of the teaching context. (SR)

Business teachers who teach computer applications face three major challenges: making their classes attractive to students; managing individualized, multiactivity classes; and developing independent business software users. The last-mentioned goal is the primary reason for the existence of the business department. (SK)

Discusses the use of computers to help with problem solving. Topics include information science, including effective procedure and procedural thinking; templates; artificially intelligent agents and expert systems; and applications in education, including the goal of computer literacy for all students, and integrated software packages such as…

College advisors can use the internet to communicate daily and exchange information with colleagues around the world, through a user-friendly academic advising forum. Basic instructions for joining an academic advising forum on the internet are provided. (Author/MSE)

Offers 10 suggestions for improving professional development courses to encourage teachers to use technology in the classroom: offer training, give them technology to use at home, provide on-site technical support, support collaboration with colleagues, allow attendance at conferences, increase access time, encourage research, provide online…