Describes five categories of software that can be useful in the basic writing classroom: computer-assisted instruction, computer-controlled instruction, artificial intelligence, computer-based rhetorical invention, and word processing. Evaluates each type of software in terms of their ability to fulfill the goals of basic writing instruction to…

This study elaborates the "what works?" question by exploring the effects of variability in program implementation quality on achievement. Particularly, the effects on achievement of computerized assessment of reading were investigated, analyzing data on 51,000 students in Grades 1-12 who read over 3 million books. When minimum implementation…

Computer software that is intended to assist the qualitative researcher in the analysis of textual data is relatively new. One such program, the Data Collector, is a HyperCard computer program designed for use on the Macintosh computer. A tool for organizing and analyzing textual data obtained from observations, interviews, surveys, and other…

This paper argues that an important design principle for building expert systems is to represent all control knowledge abstractly and separately from the domain knowledge upon which it operates. Abstract control knowledge is defined as the specifications of when and how a program is to carry out its operations, such as pursuing a goal, focusing,…

This paper shows that multiple sources of data reflecting educational progress may be used with relative ease to systematically, objectively, and accurately place students in selective educational programs, such as those funded under Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act, using readily available commercial microcomputer…

A survey of computer scientists was conducted to identify factors that affect software complexity. A total of 160 items were selected from the literature to include in a questionnaire sent to 425 individuals who were employees of computer-related businesses in Lawrence and Kansas City. The items were grouped into nine categories called system…

This paper reports on an application of parallel models to the area of information retrieval and argues that massively parallel, distributed models of computation, called connectionist, or parallel distributed processing (PDP) models, offer a new approach to the representation and manipulation of knowledge. Although this document focuses on…

This paper discusses the incorporation of heuristics in computerized decision aids that are used for structuring decision problems. Decision theory is described in terms of linked subsystems, and sites where it is necessary to employ heuristic rather than normative, algorithmic procedures are identified. Production systems are then used to…

Summaries are presented of five conference papers on communication, control, and computer access for handicapped individuals. Papers have the following titles and authors: "Accessibility of Graphically Based User Interface Computer Systems for Individuals with Visual Impairments" (Charles Lee and Gregg Vanderheiden); "Data Base vs. Information…

This paper describes a Prolog execution model which serves as the uniform basis of textbook material, video-based teaching material, and an advanced graphical user interface for Prolog programmers. The model, based upon an augmented AND/OR tree representation of Prolog programs, uses an enriched "status box" in place of the traditional…

Small community colleges with enrollments between 500 and 2,500 students have traditionally been unable to afford to hire an institutional researcher or to lease sophisticated statistical packages to perform enrollment analyses, though their needs for enrollment projections are the same as those of larger institutions. Fortunately, with a personal…

This report incorporates a literature review, a workshop paper, and discussion by workshop participants on the current status of research on what the users of computer systems know, and how these different forms of knowledge fit together in learning and performance. It is noted that such research is important to the problem of designing systems…

There are three valuable types of computer software needed by the professional researcher--word processing, spreadsheet, and database management. In general, these packages are required for the effective operation of offices; however, researchers may have special needs which can only be met with more specialized software. Recently, word processing…

This background paper for a symposium on the school of the future reviews the current instructional applications of computers in the classroom (the computer as a means or the subject of instruction), and suggests strategies that administrators might use to move toward viewing the computer as a productivity tool for students, i.e., its use for word…

This paper, which addresses the issue of representation as an internal construct corresponding to an external abstract configuration, attempts to extend A. A. DiSessa's phenomenological primitives to mathematics (particularly to the notion of circle). Various acceptations of the word representation are examined, using the notion of a circle as an…