The field of instructional technology is characterized by its products, such as instructional media, and its processes, such as instructional design. The process of instructional technology has been shaped by advances in learning and instructional theory over the past 50 years. Much of the development work of the field to date has been on direct…

As drill and practice programs in computer assisted instruction (CAI) in English give students a chance to test their understanding and free the teacher from test grading, they seem a legitimate if unexciting use of the computer; but what seems less defensible is that, according to some estimates, 90% of available CAI software is of this drill and…

Advantages of using the microcomputer as an interactive electronic blackboard are discussed, and programs and programming techniques are described to illustrate the construction, design, storage, and modification of colorful and animated graphic displays. The methods described are based on use of an Atari 800 microcomputer but could be used on…

This supplement updates the first supplement to the original catalog of available PLATO systems instructional materials. The original catalog was published in April 1980 and the first supplement in November 1981. The lessons described in the current publication have been used in actual instructional situations or have had adequate testing to…

In response to requests from the University of Alberta Department of Computing Services for PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations) applications in structured learning situations, a program for computer-assisted bibliographic instruction (BI) was developed. The program is divided into the following six units: (1) Introduction;…

This guide lists 21 software packages considered to be worthy of further consideration by other reviewing agencies and schools by a group of 12 computer coordinators from educational software preview centers and evaluation agencies. These software products have been selected as not being likely to appear in the reviews produced by major software…

This report documents an experiment to determine the training effectiveness of a microcomputer-based avionics system trainer as a cost-effective alternative to training in the actual aircraft. Participants--26 operationally qualified C-141 pilots with no prior knowledge of the Fuel Saving Advisory System (FSAS), a computerized fuel management…

The effectiveness of environmental simulations in developing students' awareness of environmental issues, whether perception of environmental relationships was affected by the simulations, and whether the use of microcomputers as the medium of instruction affected student attitudes towards computers were investigated in this study. Undergraduates…

Addressing the question of how computers can assist language development, this discussion paper presents a broad overview of the potential for computer use across the elementary school language arts curriculum. It begins by listing several questions that must be considered when assessing the usefulness of computers within the language curriculum,…

Some factors in the design of instructional micrcomputer simulations that high school social studies teachers must consider when selecting and using computer software are discussed: (1) Instructional computer simulations are adequate instructionally only to the extent that they make explicit the set of relationships underlying the program for the…

Computer software packages that are commercially available for physics instruction are compiled in this paper. Information for each program includes: the broad subject category (i.e., mechanics, waves and sound, heat and thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, optics and light, modern physics, mathematical models, or general reference/testing…

For this discussion, new technologies are defined as specially designed training systems based on microcomputers that incorporate high resolution color displays, special input devices for responses, laser videodiscs for storage of stimulus materials, and hard disk storage for programs and responses. Such systems have several advantages over…

In the late 1960s and early 1970s a considerable amount of research was conducted on methods for authoring and structuring instructional materials by researchers who did not, at that time, have access to the existing delivery systems necessary to fully implement their ideas. One of these methodologies is Structural Communications, developed by…

A study was undertaken to develop hardware and software to help students learn the operation of real production lines and imitate them without disturbing the actual working of the production line. The study also identified major research topics according to the list of eight major technologies targeted by the Taiwanese government and considered…

While it is a common complaint that there are no established standards for determining what constitutes quality foreign language software, a 1984 review of the literature revealed that there exists more consensus than confusion. Although there are not many articles that directly address the issue of quality software, many writers do touch on the…