No longer can courseware providers deal with one homogeneous target group, one learning form and possibly one pedagogical approach. Instead they must develop a broad range of courseware, each serving its specific target group, each adjusted to a specific learning and teaching form, each appealing to its own learning and teaching scenario, and each…

Education is an active process in which instructors apply various devices to make the material to be taught more suitable for students' perception. As the capabilities of available devices improve, so should the methods of teaching make the best use of them. No tool can ever replace an instructor, but tools can enhance the efficiency of…

In an attempt to hone the role of learners as designers, this study investigates the effectiveness of an instructional software application resulting from a design process founded on the tenets of participatory design, informant design, and contextual inquiry, as well as a set of established design heuristics. Collaboration occurred among learning…

The concern of this article is the difficulties faced by disabled students as technology grows and expands in academia. Although distance learning, web-based courses, and hybrid courses, among other venues, have improved the chances for many people suffering disabilities for obtaining degrees and thereby increasing their life chances, we have met…

The prototype of a guided practice application was developed to instruct year 13 biology students in the process of DNA replication. The application uses a high degree of interaction to engage the student in a guided exploration and problem solving exercise. An evaluation revealed that the students showed considerable enthusiasm and significant…

Software engineering is popularly misconceived as being an upmarket term for programming. In a way, this is akin to characterizing instructional design as the process of creating PowerPoint slides. In both these areas, the construction of systems, whether they are learning or computer systems, is only one part of a systematic process. The most…

The author presents guidelines for the selection of statistical analysis software given to graduate students to work independently. Criteria for a good teaching program are delineated. Several software programs are evaluated: STATMASTER, Statistics and Probability, Monte Carlo Simulations, Survey Sampling, KEYSTAT, CAPSAS: Computer Assisted…

In formulating a practical guide for evaluators of social studies courseware, the fundamental elements of the "Evaluator's Guide to Microcomputer-Based Instructional Packages," (MicroSIFT, 1982) were combined with an abbreviated version of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) adopted curriculum-specific guidelines. The categories…

Software available to physical educators both for general or administrative purposes and for educational purposes is discussed. Appended is a list of software with availability information and a list of vendors. (MT)

Sutphin and Richardson discuss finding software in other disciplines and adapting it for vocational agriculture. Makin, Chase, and Wonacott describe a National Center for Research in Vocational Education project to develop a procedural guide for microcomputer courseware evaluation. (SK)

Small computers are emerging as important components of the contemporary computing scene. Their operating systems vary from specialized software for an embedded system to the same style of OS used on a generic desktop or server computer. This article describes a course in which systems are classified by their hardware capability and the…

Presents several computer-oriented activities dealing with electronic dice, reading menus, rhyming words, and a high-technology version of musical chairs. Although these activities assume a certain level of computer expertise, each one can be easily adapted in any grade. (JN)

This paper provides a review of the rhetoric behind the component movement in educational software, and a critical analysis and synthesis of issues underlying the movement. We draw on case studies of several significant recent component projects in order to assess claims and to uncover and examine issues that are less often considered. While our…

The Web has caught the attention of many educators as an efficient communication medium and content delivery system. But we feel there is another aspect of the Web that has not been given the attention it deserves. We call this aspect of the Web its "component architecture." Briefly it means that on the Web one can develop very complex…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce some new functions achieved in a web-based multimedia courseware, which is developed by Flash software and used by part-time graduate students. Design/methodology/approach: The courseware uses Adobe Flash CS3 as its development software, which supports Actionscript language, FMS and FLV technology…