Discusses cognitive processes readers engage in when comprehending instructional text and identifies familiar devices utilized by authors of instructional materials to support each of these processes. Included are appropriate vocabulary and sentence syntax use for intended audience; listing instructional objectives; and use of hierarchical…

Reviews salient findings of media research involving young children and discusses implications of these findings for future research and applications in instructional computing. Effects of television viewing on attention and comprehension, achievement, development of mental skills, and behavior and socioemotional development, and comparative media…

Defines the discipline of instructional science, discusses its applications, and reviews three instructional models--the component theory display, elaboration theory of instruction, and motivational design of instruction--to illustrate the kind of integrative, multi-perspectived common knowledge base needed at this point in the development of…

Describes the general principles of a nonexperimental learning theory-based courseware evaluation which calls attention to instructional sequences in the courseware to determine if the sequence is programed around learning principles. The results of using this type of evaluation for two computerized training devices are summarized. (MBR)

Reports results of a bibliometric analysis of professional education journals publishing literature on educational microcomputing based on ERIC's Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE). Cumulative statistics on microcomputer articles in journals and general categories of articles as determined by ERIC descriptor usage indicate an…

A workable solution to the problem of how to test out an interactive video program before paying for videotape production and editing involves creating a videotape template of the computer program's flowchart to reproduce the actual interactive experience and thus check for program accuracy. (MBR)

Makes suggestions and forecasts relating to the nature of the developing partnership between teachers, students, and microcomputers and to the development and use of educational software to truly optimize learning in United Kingdom schools. (MBR)

Describes two experiments on computer-assisted instruction (CAI) interaction in which interactional analysis is utilized to provide information on the interaction of students with microcomputers. It is suggested that interactional analysis is the key to improving the design and application of CAI materials. (MBR)

Describes two studies designed to identify and validate principles of effective microcomputer manual design. In the first, instructional science students rated design principles of four computer manuals using a computer manual checklist; in the second, instructional effectiveness of these design principles was tested by comparing microcomputer…

Describes a method for videodisc courseware development utilized by the University of Notre Dame Interactive Videodisc Laboratory staff, which includes production of a storyboard as the final component of the design phase. The three steps of group storyboarding, formative evaluation, and generation of production documents are discussed in detail.…

Describes a microcomputer-based simulation of teacher student classroom interaction and discusses its use in preservice teacher training methods courses at the University of Virginia. Reactions from teacher trainees and plans for use of the simulation in the future are reviewed. (MBR)

This first of two articles presents eight examples of what software infusion (SI) looks like in actual practice in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms and learning laboratories. An analysis of SI characteristics demonstrated in the examples is presented to bring the definition of SI into focus. (MBR)

Discusses use of computer graphics to enhance instruction presented via audio-teleconferencing in University of Calgary distance education courses. System design is reviewed; instructional roles of the graphics utilized are discussed; and development of two inservice teacher education courses used to assess the system's effectiveness is described.…

An algorithm or decision chart is presented which provides basic decision steps to help management decide what data should be collected to derive valid and correct objectives, and to determine what levels of objectives will be selected relative to products, outputs, or outcomes of an organization. (MBR)

This study of 134 introductory junior high industrial arts exploration students compared effects of interactive video instruction on learner performance and attitude to determine what learning tasks best lend themselves to interactive video instruction. Three experimental treatments were used: conventional computer assisted instruction, video…