Journal of Educational Technology Systems

Computer software design generally follows a systematic process that addresses decisions on variables known to influence learning success. We propose that culture should be included as part of this decision process. Culture represents the complex of social, emotional, intellectual, physical, and personal factors that individuals use to create meaning. When these cognitive anchors are missing from instructional materials, achievement may be imperiled. Examples of how cultural variables can be incorporated into instructional decisions are presented to illustrate the potential for enhancing software.

The need to understand how children acquire knowledge in computer-based learning environments led the researcher to undertake this study. The purpose was to develop a conceptualization of what learning strategies children frequently use to process conceptually demanding material. The goal was to expose children to different categories of courseware that featured multimedia, drill and practice, simulations, tutorials, spreadsheets, and databases; and to determine learning strategies including elaboration, organization, integration, and recall. The object was to compare the types of learning strategy and nature of knowledge forms acquired during the process of learning the given material in a subject area. The study was conducted at Washington Elementary School; and participants were children in the third through sixth grades. Data was collected by using surveys, formal observations, and formative and summative evaluation procedures. Results show that 80 percent of the time the students had attention focused on the learning material and gained an elevated level of awareness. The learning strategies imagery, exemplifying, and networking were used 70 percent of the time as means to gain conceptual knowledge, factual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and develop high order thinking. The learning strategies covert practice, overt practice, and identifying key ideas were used 60 percent of the time to gain conceptual knowledge, factual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and rules in the subject areas. The learning strategy categorization was used 40 percent of the time as means to gain conceptual knowledge, factual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and rules. The learning strategies sentence elaboration and anticipation were used 30 percent of the time to gain conceptual knowledge, factual knowledge, procedural knowledge, rules, high-order rules, and develop high order thinking. These findings have implications to learning and knowledge acquisition in computer-based learning environments, instructional design, program development and improvement, and technology and teacher education.

Given the growing movement for restructuring schools, educators' responsibilities have increased with the ever-changing technological advancements of society; however, one of the concerns most often expressed is the lack of opportunities for teachers to communicate with each other about how technology is being used in the classroom. This study not only identifies in-service teacher recommendations for incorporating technology competencies into K-12 education but also implies a hierarchy of the importance of these skills. Out of a total of 495 questionnaires sent to K-12 teachers in Colorado, 287 (58%) were returned. The study includes: an overview of eleven technology competency recommendations and discusses them in further detail, a description of the technology competency recommendations assessment instrument that was designed and administered, a summary of results, and a review of the implications for K-12 education. Analysis of the data provides insight into which technology competencies should take priority in instructional design and helps make fundamental classroom changes for the future.

This article reports on a study that evaluated the use of a multimedia information kiosk by university students over a period of two years. It examined the users' perception of the system, their media preferences, and their patterns of use through actual on-line data and survey information. The results of the study highlighted several important features that an effective public access systems should have: 1) multiple navigation paths to accommodate users with different needs, 2) simple graphical user interface, and 3) visual media as the primary presentation means. Implications for designing public access systems and for future research were discussed.

The research assesses the changing computer skills of incoming business students at the undergraduate level between the years 1990 and 1996. It was found that significant improvements have taken place in almost all areas of computing skills over a six-year time period. These skills pertain to word processing, database, and spreadsheets as well as computer hardware basics. There is one area where students' knowledge has reduced over time. This area is computer programming. More and more students are learning these skills at an early age and more of them have access to personal computers. A vast majority of students are familiar with current computing topics such as Internet and multi-media. The research revealed that Hispanics and Black students are somewhat disadvantaged as to their access to personal computers when compared with whites and Asian Americans. However, the study did not determine if computing skills are affected by the racial background of students. The present study has some significant impact on the content of the introductory information systems course that is taught in schools of business. As more and more students get access to personal computers at home, the pressure on schools of business to acquire state-of-the-art computer hardware and software may be decreased.

This research investigates the impact created by the use of videoconferencing technology in a large MIS class where, traditionally, the lecture had been used. The teacher presented a lecture on DSS from his office and collaborated with a colleague on solving a spreadsheet problem. A questionnaire was administered to measure the perceptions of the students. Even though 85 percent of the students who participated in the classes were non-MIS majors, students in the section where videoconferencing was used perceived it to be more useful, challenging, attractive, and clear compared to the section where videoconferencing was not used. The students preferred the videoconferencing method irrespective of their GPA or computer ownership. These results show that desk-top videoconferencing technologies could be effectively used to train those who are not familiar with information technologies. Videoconferencing technologies might show the potential for collaborative work to those workers even though they may not be very familiar with computer hardware and software.