This analysis of the cost-effectiveness of the University of Delaware's own PLATO system discusses the initial expense of acquiring the system, decreases in unit cost as number of users increased, capital investment in hardware, expenditures and funding sources, comparisons of actual and projected costs, and benefits of individualized instruction.…

This brief, non-technical narrative for teachers addresses the following questions: (1) What are computers? (2) How do they work? (3) What can they do? (4) Why should we care? (5) What do they have to do with reading instruction? and (6) What is the future of computers for teachers and students? Specific topics discussed include the development of…

Dangers are inherent in predicting the future. In discussing the future of computers, specifically, it is useful to consider the brief history of computers from the development of ENIAC to microcomputers. Advances in computer technology can be seen by looking at changes in individual components, including internal and external memory, the…

Intended to serve as a guide to the development of basic computer competencies for students in teacher preparation programs or as inservice training for teachers, this primarily self-instructional manual provides basic information, worksheets, computer programs, and hands-on learning activities for 16 proficiencies related to computer literacy.…

A project at the University of Witwatersrand examined the implications of introducing a centrally controlled system of computer-based learning in which 13 university departments utilized PLATO to supplement teaching programs and encourage computer literacy. Department project descriptions and project evaluations (which reported positive student…

The 122 papers in this collection were presented in 15 sessions of the 20th annual convention of the Association for Educational Data Systems which was held in Orlando, Florida, May 10-14, 1982. Individual papers covered a wide variety of topics, including computer assisted instruction, computer managed instruction, computer literacy,…

Technical aspects of the PLATO system, the language work done on PLATO thus far (specifically in foreign languages), and areas for further research in computer-based language instruction are reviewed. PLATO-IV, designed and implemented by the Computer-Based Educational Research Laboratory of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is…