Colleges and universities have increasingly invested in specialized software and hardware designed to enhance and facilitate the instructional process for faculty and students. One type of technological assistance is commonly known as course management software (CMS). Once learned, these CMS packages can greatly enhance and enrich the classroom…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the design and implementation of music courseware that features a music search system that uses impression keywords. The paper applies the courseware to "Kansei" (sensibility) development for elementary and junior high school students. The objectives of this courseware are to cultivate…

Children with spelling difficulties are limited in their participation in all written school activities. We aimed to investigate the influence of word-prediction as a tool on spelling accuracy and typing speed. To this end, we selected 80 Grade 4-6 children with spelling difficulties in a school for special needs to participate in a research…

Writing researchers have developed various methods for investigating the writing process since the 1970s. The early 1980s saw the occurrence of the real-time computer-aided study of the writing process that relies on the protocols generated by recording the computer screen activities as writers compose using the word processor. This article…

The use of microworlds (MWs), or complex dynamic systems, in educational testing and personnel selection is hampered by systematic measurement errors because these new and innovative item formats are not adequately controlled for their difficulty. This empirical study introduces a way to operationalize an MW's difficulty and demonstrates the…

Recent advances in information technology have made feasible the development of intelligent computer assisted instruction study units. Analysis and design of such systems require the active involvement of a development team consisting of domain experts, educators, and knowledge engineers. Science and technology teaching methods are frequently…

Researchers are developing automated instructional design systems which guide subject matter experts (SMEs) through the complexities of courseware development. Enabling SMEs to perform many of the authoring activities associated with courseware development has two distinct advantages: (1) costs are contained; and (2) SMEs can make optional use of…

This document contains three position papers concerned with copyright, cataloging, and software standards for educational software. In the first paper, "Cataloguing Educational Software: Is There a Problem?" R. N. Tucker advocates the cataloguing of educational software in the same way and in the same place as other materials in a…

The result of a continuing study of software related to children with special needs, this guide is intended to assist in the selection of software appropriate for children with mental, physical, behavioral, sensory, and learning impairments. Suggestions for gifted children are also included. The guide is updated yearly and includes more than 190…

This edition of "Only the Best" identifies 183 of the most recent education software programs that have met the high standards of 37 software evaluator services since the 1990 edition was published. The purpose of this document is to provide a quick, easy way for computer coordinators, librarians, curriculum directors, teachers, school…

This resource guides assists vocational education teachers of special needs students in locating software that teaches mathematics skills in a vocational context. An introduction explains how the guide was developed and how to use it. The guide is organized by specific math skills: readiness; whole numbers; fractions; decimals; discount, interest,…

This guide developed by MicroSIFT, a clearinghouse for microcomputer-based educational software and courseware, provides background information and forms to aid teachers and other educators in evaluating available microcomputer courseware. The evaluation process comprises six stages: (1) sifting, which screens out those programs that are not…

In today's complex computer-based teaching (CBT)/computer-assisted instruction market, flashy presentations frequently prove the most important purchasing element, while instructional design and content are secondary to form. Courseware purchasers must base decisions upon either a vendor's presentation or some published evaluator rating.…

This computer software program bibliography available from the National Collegiate Software Clearinghouse (NCSC) includes programs for college students and researchers in anthropology, economics and business, education, English and text analysis, foreign language, general interest, history, management, philosophy and religion, political science,…

The relative worth of any evaluation instrument depends on user needs and the material being evaluated. Potential users of a good computer assisted instruction (CAI) instrument include purchasers, authors, reviewers, and publishers of CAI materials. Although each user has unique needs, a good instrument will serve both to educate and discriminate,…