Learning spreadsheets: human instruction vs. computer-based instruction

The increasing need to instruct students in the use of personal computer software, especially electronic spreadsheets, is placing greater demands on the already full university curriculum. A potential help in meeting these demands is the readily available computer-based software tutorials. In order to explore the feasibility of computer-based instruction as an alternative to human instruction, this research compares two modes of instruction, computer-based and human. An experiment was conducted with groups of business student subjects. The research results indicate no difference in students' attitude towards computer-based instruction and human instruction of spreadsheets. Students' short-term recall of the software syntax being taught is as strong with computer-based instruction as with human instruction. These results were not affected by the level of personal computer experience that students had prior to the experiment. However, the ability to comprehend and immediately apply the software to a task is greater with human instruction than with computer-aided instruction. This advantage holds true for students instructed by experienced and inexperienced instructors.     

Learning Java: a programmed instruction approach using Applets

A programmed instruction approach to knowledge acquisition is operationalized by student–teacher interactions that involve monitoring and managing the moment-by-moment progress of a learner throughout the process of achieving a criterion of mastery in a knowledge domain. The teacher is generic and may include another person, a structured text, or a computer. When the steps and increments leading to a task's completion and mastery can be enumerated, the process of interaction-based learning lends itself to implementation with computer-based tutoring systems. The present paper describes a computer-based programmed instruction tutoring system that teaches a learner how to write a simple Java™ computer program. The system is based on a series of Java Applets, which are computer programs that are downloaded from a network server and executed by a client browser such as Netscape®. The use of Java Applets makes the tutoring system available to learners over the World Wide Web. Performance acquisition data are presented to show an individual learner's progression to task completion and mastery using the tutoring system. Survey data are presented to show the subjective responses of a class of students to the use of the tutoring system. The adoption of this computer-based tutoring system is justified as one component within a personalized system of instruction that also includes lectures and collaborative learning experiences.     

Developing a web‐based multimedia assessment system for facilitating science laboratory instruction

This study developed a web‐based multimedia assessment system (WMA system) and applied it to science laboratory instruction. The goal was to improve students' knowledge acquisition under science laboratory instruction. The developed system enabled learners to perform self‐assessments by responding to multimedia technology test items online. The system recorded each learner's complete answer history and provided the students with personalized learning resources. This study adopted a quasi‐experimental research design. The learning content was an “experiment on separating mixtures.” Students participating in the research were divided into a typical science laboratory instruction group (TI group; n = 25) and a group that received instruction through the WMA system (WMA group; n = 26). Before instruction, all the students completed the conceptual knowledge and experimental knowledge pretests. During instruction, the TI group watched the teacher's demonstration experiment, and the students then performed the experiment in a real laboratory. In the WMA group, after learning through the WMA system, the students also performed the experiment in a real laboratory. After instruction, all the students completed the conceptual knowledge and experimental knowledge posttests. The findings indicated that the students in the WMA group showed significantly higher improvements in their scientific conceptual knowledge and experimental knowledge.     

Computer-assisted instruction in an elementary college economics course

The ingredients involved in the computer component of a cost effective college course in economics are examined in some detail in this article. As measured by increased student achievement and by favorable student reaction to the instruction the course is a success. The main computer ingredients used with the course consist of a series of seven instructional lessons of a review and expository nature, three hour examinations with multiple forms administered by the computer, a sophisticated record-keeping system and a note-writing capability enabling students and instructors to communicate with each other via the computer. In addition a study management system which research has demonstrated improves cognitive achievement was available but was not used in the experiment reported upon here.During the 1979 fall semester roughly 1000 students at the University of Illinois used the ‘economic supplementary package’—available world-wide through CDC. On the average students finishing the complete package spent somewhat less than one hour per week at the computer terminal. Off the computer students used different text books depending upon the lecturers teaching the various sections of the course. The author feels that instructors in other disciplines might benefit from knowing the peculiar combination of inputs which lead to favorable student acceptance of CAI instruction in economics and to statistically significant improvements in outcomes.     

The learning value of computer-based instruction of early reading skills

Abstract This study examined the unique contribution of computer-based instruction when compared with more conventional modes of instruction (i.e. teacher instruction with textbooks) to early reading skills acquisition, as well as the effects of specific features of computer technology on early reading skills performance. Forty-six pre-school children (aged 5–6), at high risk for learning disabilities, participated in the study. They were assigned to one of three study groups that received different treatments. Three dependent variables were defined, i.e. children's phonological awareness, word recognition and letter recognition skills measured prior and after the treatment. Results clearly indicated that children at high risk who received the reading intervention program with computer materials significantly improved their phonological awareness, word recognition, and letter naming skills relative to their peers who received a reading intervention program with only printed materials and those who received no formal reading intervention program. The results are discussed in detail, with reference to the features of the computer-based materials that contributed to the acquisition of critical early reading skills.     

Computer-based instruction and generative strategies: Conceptual framework & illustrative example

Adult students who are enrolled in higher education must experience computer-based instruction that is well-designed in terms of both efficiency and relevance. Published practical examples of processes that will result in such instruction are rare. This article begins by describing the needs of adult students who are enrolled in higher education. Then, this article describes a project in which Morrison, Ross, and Kemp’s (2004) curvilinear instructional design model was used to create computer-based instruction in the field of developmental mathematics. Both the design and development phases are described. The article concludes with implications for others who might use a similar approach in higher education.     

Development of instructional strategy of computer application software for group instruction

This study was designed to develop practical and effective teaching strategies of computer application software for group instruction at Tamkang University. The assumption was that practical strategies for learning computer application software that were highly organized, provided hands-on learning, and proceeded in small steps would be successful in increasing the skill level of students. It utilized the cognitive concept of “scaffolding” that novice should be assisted at the beginning and promoted to self-learning. At the first stage, students and instructors evaluated four Microsoft PowerPoint instructional CD-ROMs and an instructional CD-ROM was developed according to the designing principles of the evaluation. Secondly, interviews were employed to gather data from the instructors and students of introductory computer courses. Based on the criteria defined by literature review and interview, instructional strategies for computer application software learning for group instruction were developed. These strategies and designing guidelines were further implemented and revised by selected instructors. Formative evaluation of instructional strategies and designing guidelines for instructional CD-ROM were conducted with participant observation and interview. Instructional strategies, which included motivation, organization, demonstration, practice, and transfer stages, were developed for evaluation. After the evaluation, instructors reported that these strategies provided them a systematic and efficient approach in designing their instruction and the instructional CD-ROM were helpful to the group instruction process. The students concluded that the new instructional processes were more motivating, organized and interacting. However, students suggested they need more time for practice during group instruction. They recommended that the instructional CD-ROM could take the major role of individualized instruction after 4–6 h of group instruction.     

Instructional efficiency of integrated and separated text with animated presentations in computer-based science instruction

This study deals with the instructional efficiency of integrating text and animation into computer-based science instruction. The participants were 84 seventh-grade students in a private primary school in Istanbul. The efficiency of instruction was measured by mental effort and performance level of the learners. The results of the study showed that processing integrated text and animation format in computer-based science instruction requires less mental effort than the separated format, and that the performance of the students in the group with integrated presentation format group is higher than that of students in the group with separated presentation format. Instructional efficiency of the integrated presentation group was found to be higher than that of the separated presentation group. Finally, there was no difference between the two groups for instructional time.     

Combining teacher-Led and technology-assisted instruction to improve phoneme blending to read words for elementary students with disabilities

Technology-assisted instruction has potential for helping students improve their reading skills. In the current studies, PowerPoint software was used to supplement teacher-led reading instruction for elementary-aged students with disabilities who struggled with phoneme blending to read words. The effectiveness of the intervention was assessed using two multiple probe design studies across sets of words based on an onset-rime (word family) strategy. In Study 1, teacher-led instruction was paired with technology-assisted instruction for all intervention sessions for three students in first and second grade. In Study 2, teacher-led instruction occurred between baseline and technology-assisted intervention sessions for three students in third and fourth grade. During the initial instruction sessions, participants recorded their own voices onto PowerPoint slides so that their technology-assisted instruction included self-modelling. Results of both studies indicated that technology-assisted instruction can be effective for helping students learn how to blend phonemes to read words; however, performance varied and there were limitations in each study that should be addressed in future research. Relevant implications for classroom instruction are emphasized.     

The impact of computer-based procedures on team performance,communication, and situation awareness

In nuclear power plants, operating procedures are adopted to aid the operators in performing their tasks. With the evolution of computer hardware and software, the analog human-machine systems of the main control room in the nuclear power plant have been replaced with digital systems. Moreover, automated operations now outnumber manual operations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of computer-based procedures on the team performance, communication, and situation awareness of operators in the main control room. To achieve the purpose, a within-subjects experiment was designed and then a survey was conducted. The results showed that the teams had better objective performance and higher situation awareness when using computer-based procedures. In addition, the teams also had lower human error and lower communication rates when using computer-based procedures. This study proposes that computer-based procedures are advantageous to the operation of the systems of the main control rooms in nuclear power plants.Relevance to industryComputerized procedures system is one of the specific features for advanced nuclear power plant. This study explores and analyzes the team performance, communication, and situation awareness difference between paper-based, electronic, and computer-based procedures in detail. It may provide practical information for how to apply computer-based procedures to perform the tasks in the main control room of the advanced nuclear power plant.     

Interactive augmented reality system for enhancing library instruction in elementary schools

Due to limited budgets and manpower, most elementary schools in Taiwan do not plan or provide library instruction for students. Although students can use libraries, they typically lack the knowledge needed to use library resources effectively. Consequently, students have difficulty finding the books they need and can easily become overwhelmed by the massive amount of information in libraries. Computer-assisted instruction for teaching basic library skills to large numbers of students is an appealing method. Particularly, developing augmented reality (AR) technologies for learning have garnered considerable attention in education research. Many researchers and scholars believe that integrating teaching and AR enhances student learning performance and motivation. This work develops an educational AR system based on situated learning theory, and applies innovative augmented reality interactive technology to a library’s learning environment. Student library knowledge can be enhanced via the proposed augmented reality library instruction system (ARLIS). Experimental results demonstrate that student learning performance is improved significantly by using the proposed ARLIS. Moreover, this work demonstrates that using the proposed ARLIS for library instruction results in the same learning performance as conventional librarian instruction and there is no gender difference on learning performance between the proposed ARLIS and conventional librarian instruction. Moreover, the proposed library instruction system overcomes shortcomings of personal teaching skills of librarians that may adversely affect student learning performance by conveying the same learning content to all students. Additionally, the proposed system results in better learning performance for learners with the field-dependent cognitive style than learners with the field-independent cognitive style. Further, the proposed system provides more benefits in terms of library skills of application and comprehension than conventional librarian instruction. Moreover, the learning performance of students is not affected by their gaming skills. Therefore, student gaming skills do not need to be considered when adopting the proposed system in library instruction programs.     

计算机应用基础教学方法研究

计算机应用基础教学,是学生在进行计算机学习时所接触到的第一门基础性的计算机课程,而这一学科主要的教学目的则是使学生能够掌握到计算机方面最基本的知识,从而激发学生对计算机知识学习的兴趣,培养学生在计算机方面的学习能力,从而为今后的计算机知识学习打下坚实的基础。本人结合自己在计算机教学中的一些实践经验,对计算机应用基础的教学做一些探索。     

Honeymoon with IWBs: A qualitative insight in primary students' views on instruction with interactive whiteboard

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the views of primary students about interactive whiteboard [IWB] use in their classes from attitudinal and pedagogical perspectives. Research was designed as an empirical approach to phenomenology. Data was collected from fifty primary students (fourth to eighth) through focus group interviews. Nvivo 9 qualitative data analysis software was used to analyze data. Results showed that students like instruction with IWB especially for such reasons/capabilities as practical and economical use, better visual presentation, and test-based use. Students were predominantly uncomfortable with the technical problems. They believed that instruction with IWB positively impacted their learning especially because of visualization and contextualization, effective presentation, test-based use, and motivational factors. Finally it was inferred that IWBs were not used to their full potential, and both technical problems and common practices indicated that teachers were still at an initial stage of transmission to instruction with IWB and they needed both technical and pedagogical training.     

Honeymoon with IWBs: A qualitative insight in primary students' views on instruction with interactive whiteboard

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the views of primary students about interactive whiteboard [IWB] use in their classes from attitudinal and pedagogical perspectives. Research was designed as an empirical approach to phenomenology. Data was collected from fifty primary students (fourth to eighth) through focus group interviews. Nvivo 9 qualitative data analysis software was used to analyze data. Results showed that students like instruction with IWB especially for such reasons/capabilities as practical and economical use, better visual presentation, and test-based use. Students were predominantly uncomfortable with the technical problems. They believed that instruction with IWB positively impacted their learning especially because of visualization and contextualization, effective presentation, test-based use, and motivational factors. Finally it was inferred that IWBs were not used to their full potential, and both technical problems and common practices indicated that teachers were still at an initial stage of transmission to instruction with IWB and they needed both technical and pedagogical training.     

Reduced GUI for an interactive geometry software: Does it affect students' performance?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe an experimental study to reduce cognitive load and enhance usability for interactive geometry software.Design/methodology/approachThe Graphical User Interface is the main mechanism of communication between user and system features. Educational software interfaces should provide useful features to assist learners without generate extra cognitive load. In this context, this research aims at analyzing a reduced and a complete interface of interactive geometry software, and verifies the educational benefits they provide. We investigated whether a reduced interface makes few cognitive demands of users in comparison to a complete interface. To this end, we designed the interfaces and carried out an experiment involving 69 undergraduate students.FindingsThe experimental results indicate that an interface that hides advanced and extraneous features helps novice users to perform slightly better than novice users using a complete interface. After receiving proper training, however, a complete interface makes users more productive than a reduced interface.Originality/valueIn educational software, successful user interface designs minimize the cognitive load on users; thereby users can direct their efforts to maximizing their understanding of the educational concepts being presented.     

Computer‐assisted foreign language instruction: task based vs. form focused

The purpose of this article is twofold: to describe a prototype for a computer‐assisted task‐based language instruction (CATBI) tool designed and developed for Turkish as a Foreign Language, and to report on the effectiveness of the CATBI tool. More specifically, this work discusses an experimental study that examined the role of teaching approach in foreign language development by comparing CATBI to computer‐assisted form‐focused language instruction (CAFFI) on language production in terms of accuracy, lexical complexity, and fluency. For a duration of 7 days, two intermediate‐level Turkish as a Foreign Language classes consisting of 28 high school students participated in this experiment. The classes were randomly assigned to two treatment groups: an experimental group with CATBI and a control group with CAFFI. Statistical analyses revealed that students in the CATBI group produced significantly better and more fluent language than students with CAFFI. However, no significant effects were found in terms of accuracy and lexical complexity of the language produced. Based on these results, it was concluded that CATBI is more effective than CAFFI in enhancing language production in general, and fluency in particular.     

Empirical assessment of individuals' 'personal information management systems'

Abstract

A simple pilot study has been undertaken to investigate the use of 'personal information management technologies' (including both traditional and emerging electronic technologies) via a combination of nominal questionnaire and semi-structured interview schedules. The pilot study suggested that the number of users adopting computer-based personal information management technologies is low, as is the combination of computer-based technologies with traditional paper-based technologies in users' 'personal information management systems'.     

Effects of confidence scores and remedial instruction on prepositions learning in adaptive hypermedia

Although Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) provides EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students a dynamic environment for English learning, many courses in current markets still emphasize the presentation of domain knowledge but neglect how the students truly interact with the lessons. This article describes the development of Hypermedia-based English Learning system for Prepositions (HELP), which provides EFL students learning diagnosis and remedial instruction according to student confidence scores (CR). Details include how the system diagnoses students' error types in English prepositions and provides adaptive remedial instructions. This study also investigated the effects of two design factors: (1) student confidence ratings (CR) for answers, and (2) the provision of adaptive remedial instruction on EFL students' English prepositions learning in adaptive hypermedia. A pretest–posttest control-group experiment involving 88 EFL students was employed. Results of this study revealed significant effects of student confidence ratings (CR) and the provision of adaptive remedial instruction for English prepositions learning in hypermedia-based lessons.     

Instructional effectiveness of a computer-supported program for teaching reading comprehension strategies

This article examines the effectiveness of a computer-based instructional program (e-PELS) aimed at direct instruction in a collection of reading comprehension strategies. In e-PELS, students learn to highlight and outline expository passages based on various types of text structures (such as comparison or cause-and-effect) as well as to paraphrase, self-question, and summarize. The study involved 1041 fourth-grade elementary students from 21 schools distributed in three regions in central Chile. Participant teachers integrated this program into the Spanish language curriculum, instructing their students during thirty sessions of 90 min each during one school semester. Pretest-to-posttest gains in reading comprehension scores were significantly greater for students instructed with this program than for students who received traditional instruction (d = .5), with particularly strong effects for lower-achieving students (d = .7). The findings support the efficacy of direct instruction in specific learning strategies in a computer-based environment.     

Software engineering research for computer games: A systematic review

ContextCurrently, computer game development is one of the fastest growing industries in the worldwide economy. In addition to that, computer games are rapidly evolving in the sense that newer game versions arrive in a very short interval. Thus, software engineering techniques are needed for game development in order to achieve greater flexibility and maintainability, less cost and effort, better design, etc. In addition, games present several characteristics that differentiate their development from classical software development.ObjectiveThis study aims to assess the state of the art on research concerning software engineering for computer games and discuss possible important areas for future research.MethodWe employed a standard methodology for systematic literature reviews using four well known digital libraries.ResultsSoftware engineering for computer games is a research domain that has doubled its research activity during the last 5 years. The dominant research topic has proven to be requirements engineering, while topics such as software verification and maintenance have been neglected up to now.ConclusionThe results of the study suggest that software engineering for computer games is a field that embraces many techniques and methods from conventional software engineering and adapts them so as to fit the specific requirements of game development. In addition to that, the study proposes the employment of more elaborate empirical methods, i.e. controlled experiments and case studies, in game software engineering research, which, have not been extensively used up to now.