Reported are (1) rationale for standardizing the purchase of microcomputers by the Houston Independent School District; (2) general criteria used to evaluate bids; and (3) reasons why Bell and Howell was selected as the best bidder. This is the largest single microcomputer purchase by a school district to date. (JN)

Describes the development of a standardized curriculum in informatics for adult education institutes in West Germany which features problem solving using computers, structure and function of a computer, social implications of computer use, and computers in business and administration. Reasons for taking courses are classified and tested.…

Discussed is computer use at High Valley, a small private tutorial school in rural Dutchess County, New York. (MP)

A minicourse designed to teach fourth and fifth graders about computers included decoding computer cards, a "race" against the computer, a field trip, flow charting, and writing computer programs. The course was limited by the students' ability to understand abstract mathematical concepts. (MP)

Since computers are already involved in everyday activities and have increased in importance for problem-solving at home and at work, justification exists for universal computer literacy. Ethical considerations regarding production and consumption of computer services are being raised. (JN)

A description is given of a supplemental unit for a primary level computer literacy class in which a play is produced with all students taking roles as parts of a computer. (MP)

Explains scientific writing processes and describes a trial at Victoria University (Australia) that introduced Computer Science students to the task of technical and scientific writing, including the process of peer review. Includes reports on student attitudes gathered through anonymous surveys. (Author/LRW)

Describes the initial implementation and evaluation of an online environment designed to support a collaborative programming task among undergraduate students and provide them with experiential learning. Explains a holistic, context-based approach to evaluating the success of the innovation, together with the framework used for conducting the…

Describes a project at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey to encourage women to enroll in courses with a large computer technology component and to enable those women to be successful when they take computing courses. Explains the development of a first-year seminar that was created to improve women's computer skills. (LRW)

A study of college students revealed weaknesses in learning strategies and metacognitive skills. The students' experience using LOOPS simulation software to create program loops suggests that computer programming coursework may have substantial value for non-majors. (LRW)

Proposes that to bridge today's gender gap in computing, prior approaches need to integrate appeals to girls' traditional and nontraditional interests, and focus content more clearly on learning about computer design itself. A test of this strategy obtained significant increases in the treatment group's interest in, sense of relevancy of, and…

Describes a case study approach to teaching database design principles to undergraduate students that is based on a library database. Topics discussed include database management systems, relational models, entity relationship models, many-to-many relationships, normalization, and producing a working database. (three references) (LRW)

Discussion of the relationship of personality variables to programing ability highlights a study of undergraduates that investigated the influence of cognitive style on the programing skill of debugging. Use of the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) is described, scoring schemes for diagnostic tasks are explained, and suggestions for further…

Describes in-service training programs provided by the Cleveland diocesan education office for Catholic educators. Focuses on efforts to improve drug prevention, science, and computer education. (DMM)

Examines factors related to computer anxiety measured by the Computer Anxiety Index (CAIN). Achievement in two programing courses was inversely related to computer anxiety. Students who had a home computer and had computer experience before high school had lower computer anxiety than those who had not. Lists 14 references. (YP)