Suggests use of instructional theory to generate criteria for evaluating microcomputer courseware and describes one approach to its use. This approach identifies skills that the three courseware types--drill and practice, tutorial, and simulation--can teach, and then selects the instructional theory that most specifically addresses the identified…

Presents a model for instructional software design as a collaborative effort involving computer scientists and educators, which stresses the process of design through documentation. The documentation used to exchange information at each phase of the process is described, and the advantages of this model are discussed. (CLB)

Delineates the differences between simulators and training devices, and discusses the possibility of inadequate training when simulators are used as training devices. Guidelines for appropriate training device development using a behavioral learning approach are presented. (13 references) (CLB)

Develops generalizations for empirical evaluation of software based upon suitability of several research designs--pretest posttest control group, single-group pretest posttest, nonequivalent control group, time series, and regression discontinuity--to type of software being evaluated, and on circumstances under which evaluation is conducted. (MBR)

CAI can pay by choosing a market where a decrease in training time or an increase in student-teacher ratios can be translated into lower over-all costs to the system. This situation obtains when CAI is used for the education and training of professionals, children with learning disabilities and others whose instructional needs cannot be met by the…

Authors describe a measurement technique which processes item data so as to indicate logical relationships among items. (HB)

Provides general overview of most popular microcomputer hardware (tape cassette-based, cartridge-based, disk-based) noting display, keyboard, system characteristics, and price. Discussion of available educational software includes commercial publishers, nonprofit educational agencies, free or low-cost software, and authoring languages and test…

Discusses some of the problems of implementing computer-aided learning (CAL) in a university environment and describes a centralized CAL service agency that was created at the University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Courseware development and implementation are described, and CAL research and evaluation are discussed. (16 references) (LRW)

Presents findings of an evaluation that was designed to assess the results of the Second Pan American Teleconference on AIDS. Benefits of teleconferencing for health care workers in developing countries are discussed, emphasizing cost effectiveness; evaluation methods are described; and results are analyzed from a regional perspective. (six…

Compares the analysis, design, development, and evaluation of electronic performance support tools and systems to a traditional instructional systems design model. Topics discussed include indeterminate outcomes; rapid prototyping; front end analysis; intervention strategies; sequencing; user control; media selection; formative evaluation; and…

Discusses changes in the field of educational technology from a mechanistic to a more humanistic view, and highlights the importance of interpersonal skills through three studies conducted in the British Open University: one dealing with instructional development, one with the evaluation of teaching and teaching systems, and one with the fostering…

Reviews the current status of intelligent tutoring systems and summarizes the literature that evaluates these systems. Discussion highlights the problems of inadequate models, the lack of protocol analysis in systems design, and flaws in testing methodologies. (20 references) (CLB)

Describes how high school students were introduced to online bibliographic searching, taught to formulate search strategies, and observed their execution. The course objectives, methods employed, the students' achievement level responses, test results on course completion, and observations of the course are also examined. (MBR)

A discussion of the Flexible Grading System, whereby the student decides, within certain restrictions, what relative weighting is to be placed on each of his examinations. (Author)

A discussion of using individual expectancy scores rather than comparative group scores in evaluating achievement gains. (HB)