Discusses the results of an ongoing research study to measure college students' microcomputer literacy before taking a microcomputer course. A brief review of the literature on computer literacy is provided, a comparative analysis of results is given, and a microcomputer literacy index is described that measures literacy and ranks students.…

Discusses essential commands of the BASIC programing language to help secondary school English teachers develop an understanding of the language and enable them to create programs to supplement English lessons. A core program that can be easily modified by teachers for developing a series of programs is described in detail. (MBR)

Discusses functions of automated instrumentation systems, i.e., systems which combine electrical measuring instruments and a controlling computer to measure responses of a unit under test. The computer-assisted tutorial then described is programmed for use on such a system--a modern microwave spectrum analyzer--to introduce engineering students to…

Describes the use of a graduate student in computer science to develop an automated fiscal reporting system to handle budgetary problems associated with funded research projects at the Texas A&M College of Medicine. The roles of graduate students, faculty members, and system users in the project are described. (Author/JL)

An instructional strategy is constructed and implemented to develop a BASIC computer program for rule learning. The strategy identifies conditions of the instructional sequence including introduction to familiar vocabulary, designing an advance organizer, presenting the defining rule, providing examples, and learner generation cues. Advantages to…

Discussion of multilingual teaching environments focuses on the development of instructional software that is able to change the language of the on-screen presentation. Benefits for second-language learning are discussed, programing methods are explained, and an example of a software program in English and in German is given. (LRW)

Discusses programer job training programs, designed to give the knowledge, skills, and effective job experience required for placement in entry level business programing jobs, to chronically unemployed, low-income adults who lack marketable skills, but demonstrate the intelligence, competence, motivation, and temperament required to do…

Describes a study in which computer problem-solving tutorial routines, written according to the Polya strategy, are utilized to teach an engineering statics course. Although their use by students was well received, they were recommended as a supplement to the course rather than as a replacement for the instructor. (MBR)

Describes a 12-day undergraduate immersion course in computer science in which extensive experience is provided in programming in BASIC and WATIV on microcomputers and time-shared computers. The article includes a discussion of experience with the course at Glassboro State College for the years 1979-1981 which outlines course organization and…

Describes a study designed to determine if college students' success in writing computer programs is related to level of cognitive development as described by Piaget, verbal ability, and mathematics reasoning. Regression analysis showed that level of cognitive development, when combined with verbal reasoning, is linearly predictive of programming…