Presents a formal model for specification of logical requirements of computer-based information systems that incorporates structural and dynamic aspects based on two separate models: the Logical Information Processing Structure and the Logical Information Processing Network. The model's role in systems development is discussed. (MBR)

The effects of introducing a microcomputer into an elementary-school classroom were studied using a naturalistic paradigm. Initial questions investigated the impact of the microcomputer on children's behavior, interactions, and responses to available software; and on the teacher's role. Data were fathered through: weekly observation for 4 months;…

The kinds of questions asked about the incorporation of computers into the classroom's social environment will largely dictate the methods of answering them. Asking about the effects of technology and the social life of classrooms is problematic, however. For example, traditional two-group, experimental studies are flawed because computers per se…

Factors contributing to the uniqueness of educational software are analyzed from contextual and textual perspectives. Contextual (or external) technological, economic, and social factors are examined briefly, and are identified as the dominant factors in the future evolution of educational software. Feedback and interactiveness, two significant…

This report is a collection of 11 recent papers by the Human-Machine Interaction Group at the University of California, San Diego. The following papers are included: (1) "Stages and Levels in Human-Machine Interaction," Donald A. Norman; (2) "The Nature of Expertise in UNIX," Stephen W. Draper; (3) "Users in the Real…

Defines cognitive computer tools as software programs that use the control capabilities of computers to amplify, extend, or enhance human cognition; suggests seven ways in which computers can aid learning; and describes the "Learning Tool," a software package for the Apple Macintosh microcomputer that is designed to aid learning of…

Describes ideas for making the best use of simple language processing interfaces in computer-based learning activities. These ideas are based on classroom observations of hearing-impaired, language-impaired, and unimpaired children using programs with a natural language interface which allows them to communicate with the computer about…

This study examined an application of a human machine interface which relies on the use of optical bar codes incorporated in a computer-based module to teach radio production. The sequencing procedure used establishes the user rather than the computer as the locus of control for the mediated instruction. (Author/MBR)

"E-Learning and Virtual Science Centers" addresses an aspect of Web-based education that has not attracted sufficient attention in the international research literature--that of virtual science centers, the cyberspace annex of traditional science centers. It is the first book to be published on the rapidly advancing field of science education.…