The EM algorithm is used to derive maximum likelihood estimates for item parameters of the two-parameter logistic item response curves. The observed information matrix is then used to approximate the covariance matrix of these estimates. Simulated data are used to compare the estimated and actual item parameters. (Author/BW)

Description of encoding of art works and digitization of paintings to preserve and restore them reviews experiments which used chromatic selection and abstraction as a painting restoration method. This method utilizes the numeric processing resulting from digitization to restore a painting and computer simulation to shorten the restoration…

Describes and lists a program for Apple Pascal Version 1.1 which investigates the behavior of the bicarbonate-carbon dioxide buffer system in acid-base disorders. Designed specifically for the preclinical medical student, the program has proven easy to use and enables students to use blood gas parameters to arrive at diagnoses. (DH)

Describes and reviews commercially-available computer software for social studies (SS). They are: "Jury Trial II" (utilizes artificial intelligence); "Africa" (utilizes creative graphics to teaching SS facts; "Revolutions: Past, Present and Future"; "The Other Side" (examines world peace using values…

Seven possible applications of microcomputers in high school science programs are discussed. They include computers as calculators, computers as black-box number crunchers, computers for teaching computer literacy, computers as blackboards, computer-assisted instruction, computer simulations, and process control. (JN)

Discusses several ways in which computers are being used in sociology and how they continue to change this discipline. Areas considered include data collection, data analysis, simulations of social processes based on mathematical models, and problem areas (including standardization concerns, training, and the financing of computing facilities).…

Describes a computer-based Wilderness Travel Simulation Model that reduces the complexity of the outdoor system under study, allows students to act as managers (devising and testing their own management strategies), and increases student exposure to characteristics of actual park and wilderness areas. Two scenarios of recreational use patterns are…

Faced with beginning the school year without the necessary chemicals for experiments in a newly adopted chemistry textbook, a department chairperson conceived the idea of supplementing the textbook with simulated experiments on microcomputers. The methodology used to select the appropriate software is described, with suggestions for some new…

Describes the use and impact of process design simulators in process design courses. Discusses topics covered, texts used, computer design simulations, and how they are integrated into the process survey course as well as in plant design projects. (JM)

Discusses five values of personal computing, including its role as attention grabber, word processing (and related uses), information retrieval, simulation, communications. Also considers four ways of thinking about the future as related to computing and issues related to computers and education. (JN)

The educational design of a project option in an Open University course on evolution is described. Also described is the simulation which models the genetic and evolutionary consequences of two populations of a species of flowering plant coming together after a period of genetic isolation. (Author/JN)

A computer program is presented which simulates the classical probability machine, using Applesoft II high-resolution graphics. Many variables are left to the user's choosing. Suggestions for using the machine, understanding the problem, the mathematical model, and further program documentation are given. (MNS)

Recent developments in Internet technologies have enabled new, more flexible forms of telematic simulation and have raised issues that were not considered in the early days of networked learning. Ultimately, these questions revolve around: (1) the learning cost-effectiveness of telematic simulation (quality and quantity of learning as opposed to…

Two presentations are provided from Innovative Session 2 of the Academy of Human Resource Development (HRD) 2000 Conference proceedings. "Training Companies Speak Out on HRD Industry Changes: Symposium Introduction" (R. Wayne Pace) describes how this symposium explores the process of consolidation in the field, how the Internet is being used to…

This paper proposes an Internet facility that will authentically provide laboratory experiments remotely. Such a facility is brought to the doors of the distance learner to help provide learning that is comparable to that offered for conventional students. The paper describes the development of a prototype remote laboratory system, including…