Showing papers in "Journal of Educational Computing Research in 1997"
TL;DR: A new model based on grounded theory building for analyzing the quality of CMC interactions and learning experiences is proposed and developed after proposing a new definition of “interaction” for the CMC context and after analyzing interactions that occurred in a Global Online Debate.
Abstract: This study attempts to find appropriate interaction analysis/content analysis techniques that assist in examining the negotiation of meaning and co-construction of knowledge in collaborative learni...
1,578 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the gender gap in computer attitudes and use based on a sample of 202 college students and surveyed the students' attitudes in relation to gender, experience, and parental...
Abstract: In this study we examined the gender gap in computer attitudes and use based on a sample of 202 college students. We surveyed the students' attitudes in relation to gender, experience, and parental...
292 citations
TL;DR: Barriers that impede the effective use of technology in education are examined.
Abstract: While the number of computers in the classroom continues to increase and tremendous support for technology integration exists in government, business, and academia, a major discrepancy exists between the level of technology use expected of educators and the actual use and integration of technology in the classroom. This article examines barriers that impede the effective use of technology in education.
265 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a taxonomy of uses of educational technologies is proposed, based on a four-part division suggested years ago by John Dewey: inquiry, communication, construction, and expression.
Abstract: We describe a new way of classifying uses of educational technologies, based on a four-part division suggested years ago by John Dewey: inquiry, communication, construction, and expression. This taxonomy is compared to previous taxonomies of educational technologies, and is found to cover a wider range of uses, including many of the cutting-edge uses of educational technologies. We have tested the utility of this taxonomy by using it to classify a set of "advanced applications" of educational technologies supported by the National Science Foundation, and we use the taxonomy to point to new potential uses of technologies to support learning.
189 citations
TL;DR: This meta-analysis compared the academic achievement of students in grades six through twelve who received either traditional instruction or traditional instruction supplemented with computer-assisted instruction (CAI) across eight curricular areas, indicating that, on average, students receiving traditional instruction supplementary with CAI attained higher academic achievement than did 58.2 percent of those receiving only traditional instruction.
Abstract: This meta-analysis compared the academic achievement of students in grades six through twelve who received either traditional instruction or traditional instruction supplemented with computer-assisted instruction (CAI) across eight curricular areas. From the forty-two conclusions, an overall mean effect size of 0.209 was calculated, indicating that, on average, students receiving traditional instruction supplemented with CAI attained higher academic achievement than did 58.2 percent of those receiving only traditional instruction. The comparative effectiveness of CAI may be seen in the following descending order mean effect sizes: science, 0.639; reading, 0.262; music, 0.230; special education, 0.214; social studies, 0.205; math, 0.179; vocational education, −0.080; and English, −0.420.
75 citations
TL;DR: The Fifth Dimension is a distributed literacy consortium comprised of after-school programs located in Boys and Girls Clubs, YM & YWCAs, recreation centers, and public schools across America, Mexico, Australia, Sweden, and Russia as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The Fifth Dimension is a distributed literacy consortium comprised of after-school programs located in Boys and Girls Clubs, YM & YWCAs, recreation centers, and public schools across America, Mexico, Australia, Sweden, and Russia. The Fifth Dimension is also a mixed activity system designed to continue the projection of a second psychology [1] and to instantiate cultural-historical activity theory [2]. At the macro level the Fifth Dimension is a cultural system containing rules, artifacts, divisions of labor, and outcomes that appropriate local Fifth Dimension cultures. The four overarching goals of the Fifth Dimension are: 1) to create sustainable activity systems in different institutional settings that instantiate cultural-historical activity theory, 2) provide contexts for children to master knowledge and skills and acquire practices mediating cognitive and social development, 3) deepen our understanding of how the social and individual create each other, and 4) to provide a context in which undergrad...
70 citations
TL;DR: Two instruments were designed to assess students' perceptions of various aspects of their computer laboratory environments and the other to measure attitudes toward computers and computing courses to determine associations between laboratory environment and student attitudes.
Abstract: Computers have been used in higher education for over thirty years both as a subject of study and as a tool to assist in the learning process within other disciplines. In that time, computer laboratory classes have played a major role in the teaching of computing subjects. Despite the perceived importance of laboratory classes little research has been done on computer laboratory environments and their effect upon learning. This article describes two instruments. One was designed to assess students' perceptions of various aspects of their computer laboratory environments and the other to measure attitudes toward computers and computing courses. These instruments were used to determine associations between laboratory environment and student attitudes.
68 citations
TL;DR: This research project consists of two related studies involving first- and second-year university students learning to write recursive programs and demonstrated the two collaborative learning environments produced two distinct psycho-social behaviors manifested by the students.
Abstract: This research project consists of two related studies involving first- and second-year university students learning to write recursive programs. The first employed a micro-structure analysis that examined the psycho-social processes underlying peer-based interactions in two different computer-based collaborative learning environments: face-to-face vs. distributed context. These processes may be viewed as knowledge building activities that occur in three key collaborative situations: communication, negotiation, and consolidation. Results of this study demonstrated the two collaborative learning environments produced two distinct psycho-social behaviors manifested by the students. In the second study, 130 students were divided into four groups, three participated in collaborative learning environments; the fourth made up a control group whose members learned in isolation from one another. All the students learned to write recursive programs for designing geometric patterns. Although results indicated the fo...
67 citations
TL;DR: The expectation is that if existing theoretical, conceptual, and methodological shortcomings will be overcome one may expect new impulses which will be fruitful both for theory development, research, and the design of effective learning environments.
Abstract: In commenting results of empirical research on learning with hypertext/hypermedia systems Jacobson et al. resume that “overall there has been limited empirical documentation of the educational efficacy of such systems” [1, p. 322]. The authors suggest that factors contributing to the provisional nature of research on learning with hypertext include, e.g., “lack of attention to relevant cognitive learning theory and research and methodological problems” [1, p. 322; 2]. Tergan has critically reviewed the theoretical assumptions underlying empirical hypertext/hypermedia research [3]. The present article discusses in detail conceptual and methodological aspects of research. It is suggested that because of inherent shortcomings in design and research the potential of hypertext/hypermedia for enhancing learning may have been underestimated. The expectation is that if existing theoretical, conceptual, and methodological shortcomings will be overcome one may expect new impulses which will be fruitful both for the...
58 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a causal model relating measures of computer-experience (degree of computer use at home and in school), computer-related attitudes (dispositions concerning the computer as an important, interesting, educational, and stereotypical tool), computer related confidence, and commitment to computer learning was proposed.
Abstract: Based on attitude-behavior theory which suggests that beliefs about an object lead to an attitude toward it, and that attitudes are an important precursor of behavior, this study proposes a causal model relating measures of computer-experience (degree of computer use at home and in school), computer-related attitudes (dispositions concerning the computer as an important, interesting, educational, and stereotypical tool), computer-related confidence (degree of confidence when using a computer), and commitment to computer learning (difference between self-perceived current level of computer-application knowledge and perceived level of desired knowledge). The model hypothesizes that computer experience positively affects perceived computer self-confidence and computer related attitudes. The model further hypothesizes that computer attitudes and computer confidence reciprocally affect one other in a positive way, and that both positively affect commitment to computer learning. Questionnaires were administered...
57 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the reliability of the four subscale version of the forty-item Computer Attitude Scale (CAS) was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis, and the results confirmed that the confidence and anxiety subscales are a continuum.
Abstract: Previous research regarding the popular Computer Attitude Scale (CAS) has indicated that the computer confidence and computer anxiety subscales measure the same trait. This study, utilizing data yielded from 208 educators, obtained estimates of the reliability of the four subscale version of the forty item CAS; provided detailed information regarding the factor patterns of the CAS subscales; and provided evidence about the differential validity of the CAS among four groups with differing intensity of computer usage. Correlations and exploratory factor analysis were used to analyze the data. The results confirm that the confidence and anxiety subscales are a continuum. A new, smaller, subscale was created to reflect this relationship. Further, a new factor, attitudes toward academic endeavors associated with computer training, was named. The CAS may now be interpreted as a thirty-four-item scale addressing computer liking, perceived usefulness of computers, computer confidence/anxiety, and attitudes toward...
TL;DR: It was revealed that attitudes toward computers, and computer self-efficacy, were significant predictors of the need for learning computing skills between two groups of students, although students from computer classes demanded a higher level of computing skills than those from a non-computer class.
Abstract: This study investigated relationships concerning computer efficacy, attitudes toward computers, and need for learning computer skills. A total of 296 undergraduate students from a regional state university participated in this study in 1996. Three research questions were measured by Attitudes toward Computer Technologies and Confidence and Desired Knowledge with Computer Technologies. Statistical analyses consisted of simultaneous multiple regression, ANOVA and Tukey's HSD. ANOVA revealed that students from computer classes had more need for learning computing skills than students from a non-computer class. Multiple regression revealed that attitudes toward computers, and computer self-efficacy, were significant predictors of the need for learning computing skills between two groups of students, although students from computer classes demanded a higher level of computing skills than those from a non-computer class.
TL;DR: This study examined the learning benefits of a learner-as-designer environment simulating a real-world multimedia production house and its impact on at-risk high school students and found that the students showed a significant growth in their value of intrinsic goals.
Abstract: This study examined the learning benefits of a learner-as-designer environment simulating a real-world multimedia production house and its impact on at-risk high school students. It was found that the students showed a significant growth in their value of intrinsic goals. The experience helped students to acquire several critical design skills. What was most encouraging was that this experience of designing multimedia programs for real audiences provided many students, who were considered at-risk and could not otherwise succeed in schools, a way to pursue their own goals. It also appeared that such an environment offered a promising opportunity for students to exercise and develop their higher order thinking skills.
TL;DR: Guided instruction in Logo led to increased comprehension monitoring on both near transfer and far transfer tasks and contributed to the development of Logo error identification and debugging skills.
Abstract: This research examined whether an approach to teaching Logo programming that directly guided the student in the use of cognitive monitoring skills and the transfer of those skills would lead to increased cognitive monitoring and problem-solving skills. For this study, college students received either a guided approach to teaching Logo or a more traditional discovery approach. The results of this study demonstrated that guided instruction in Logo led to increased comprehension monitoring on both near transfer and far transfer tasks. Guided instruction in Logo programming also contributed to the development of Logo error identification and debugging skills.
TL;DR: Viewing computers in education as media through which a multitude of teachers can convey their messages means that the role of classroom teachers is diminished, but teachers and students can be empowered by these additional learning resources.
Abstract: After more than four decades, development of artificially intelligent tutoring systems has been constrained by two interrelated problems: knowledge representation and natural language understanding. G. S. Maccia's epistemology of intelligent natural systems implies that computer systems will need to develop qualitative intelligence before these problems can be solved. Recent research on how human nervous systems develop provides evidence for the significance of qualitative intelligence. Qualitative intelligence is required for understanding of culturally bound meanings of signs used in communication among intelligent natural systems. S. I. Greenspan provides neurological and clinical evidence that emotion and sensation are vital to the growth of mind—capabilities that computer systems do not currently possess. Therefore, we must view computers in education as media through which a multitude of teachers can convey their messages. This does not mean that the role of classroom teachers is diminished. Teacher...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the attitudes of school students toward computers using the Bath County Computer Attitudes Scale and a sample of 644 students in Lebanon and compared the results with the findings of other studies that were conducted in other countries using the same scale.
Abstract: This study investigates the attitudes of school students toward computers using the Bath County Computer Attitudes Scale and a sample of 644 students in Lebanon. The properties of the scale were explored in relation to a cultural environment that was not investigated before. The reliability and factor analysis of the scale were reported and compared with the findings of other studies that were conducted in other countries using the same scale. In addition, factorial analysis of variance procedure was conducted to investigate the effect of gender and home ownership of computers on students' attitudes. Differences in the means of students' attitudes who used computers differently or received different computer training were compared.
TL;DR: The Fifth Dimension Computer Club as discussed by the authors is an after-school computer club aimed at improving the literacy of English and Spanish-speaking elementary school children, and children who attended the club at least ten times during the 1994-95 school year (treatment group) showed larger pretest-to-posttest gains on tests of word problem comprehension than did non-participating children matched for grade, gender, school teacher, and language proficiency (comparison group).
Abstract: The Fifth Dimension is an after-school computer club aimed at improving the literacy of English- and Spanish-speaking elementary school children. Children who attended the club at least ten times during the 1994–95 school year (treatment group) showed larger pretest-to-posttest gains on tests of word problem comprehension than did non-participating children matched for grade, gender, school teacher, and language proficiency (comparison group). The same effect was noted for both Spanish and English versions of the test, and under a variety of matching techniques. The superiority of the treatment group was still present when the children were retested after the summer in the fall of the next year. These results provide support for the hypothesis that experience in using computer software in the Fifth Dimension computer club produces measurable, resilient, and sustained cognitive changes related to children's literacy.
TL;DR: Students who use the computer exercise made more consistent decisions than those who used the traditional paper-and-pencil exercise, suggesting that well designed computer-based laboratories can positively impact higher-order cognitive skills.
Abstract: The development of higher-order cognitive skills such as decision making is a critical component of science education. Two studies assess decisionmaking skills using common cognitive errors and evaluate the impact of computer-based laboratories on the development of these skills. The first establishes the prevalence of cognitive errors among high school students, undergraduates, and Earth Science professionals. The second examines the role of computer-aided instruction in the Earth Science domain on subsequent decision making. High school students took part in either a computer or equivalent paper-and-pencil role-playing exercise requiring students to evaluate the possible eruption of a volcano. Students who used the computer exercise made more consistent decisions than those who used the traditional paper-and-pencil exercise, suggesting that well designed computer-based laboratories can positively impact higher-order cognitive skills.
TL;DR: The hypermedia seems to provide a convenient tool for developing and administering science tests with outcomes such as increased achievement levels, correctness, number of attempts, and time-on-task.
Abstract: A review of selected hypermedia applications in teacher education, problem solving, and student testing is presented. In science teacher education, hypermedia provides opportunities for preservice teachers to gain an indepth view of classroom episodes, analyze models of instruction such as discovery learning, and contrast effective and ineffective instructional strategies. Reported outcomes include significant differences in student-centered instruction, mostly in favor of the video groups among student teachers, and in favor of the baseline groups among practicum students. Also, significant improvements were reported for student teachers over practicum students in most paired observation ratings. In mathematics problem solving, hypermedia provides an environment for anchoring instruction in video-based macrocontexts for students to gain control over the problem situation, and helps to improve student ability to solve complex problems. In student testing, the role of the hypermedia is only emerging. The h...
TL;DR: In the Cultures Connect project as discussed by the authors, students engaged in interactions with local and remote audiences in a telecommunication, constructivist-based learning environment with an emphasis on writing about real-world science.
Abstract: In our Cultures Connect project, students engaged in interactions with local and remote audiences in a telecommunication, constructivist-based learning environment with an emphasis on writing about real-world science. The sample consisted of fourth and fifth grade students from a predominantly Hispanic school. They were part of a larger learning community with six other school sites connected through telecommunications. Participants at our site worked in cooperative groups toward the development of a research writing project on real-world science topics. Interactions with their distant peers about their research and other topics consistently occurred over the project's course.Data collected for the current study targeted the status of relationships among socio-cognitive factors with selected group dynamic features of task structure preference and audience awareness. The task structure preference variable divided the students into two groups: (1a) preference to work in teams or (1b) preference to work inde...
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effectiveness of experience-related and value-related factors in predicting preservice teachers' perceived computer use with a class under differential access to four resources: computers, programs, a computer-knowledgeable individual, and an individual to initially teach students how to use a computer.
Abstract: This study examined the effectiveness of experience-related and value-related factors in predicting preservice teachers' perceived computer use with a class under differential access to four resources: computers, programs, a computer-knowledgeable individual, and an individual to initially teach students how to use a computer. The three experience-related factors were: number of computer courses taken, perceived past computer experience, and success of past experience. The six value-related factors used were the value of computers for preservice teachers': own needs, career, spouse, children, future students, and society in general. The sample consisted of 222 Primary/Junior (junior kindergarten through grade six) preservice teachers who completed a questionnaire. Results indicate that the value of computers for preservice teachers' career and future students were the best predictors of perceived computer use under differential access to the first three resources while value for own needs and, again, valu...
TL;DR: The Computer Game Attitude Scale (CGAS) as mentioned in this paper evaluates student attitudes toward educational computer games and provides evidence for the reliability and factorial validity of the scores of the CGAS and its two subscales.
Abstract: The Computer Game Attitude Scale (CGAS) evaluates student attitudes toward educational computer games This study provides evidence for the reliability and factorial validity of the scores of the CGAS and its two subscales Study participants were 186 middle school students from two large school districts in the Pacific Northwest, one urban and one suburban The CGAS produced scores with a total test alpha coefficient of 88 for the sample A principal components factor analysis with a two factor solution and a varimax rotation was conducted on the items of the CGAS Two factors explained 44 percent of the total variance The pattern of loadings in the principal components factor analysis supports the grouping implied by the two subscales, indicating that the two subscales were sufficiently stable to be used as separate scores Data indicate that the CGAS produced reliable test scores that may aid researchers, computer game designers, and teachers in the evaluation of educational software games
TL;DR: An instrument to measure the various ways people use computers was developed and evaluated and was found to be reliable and was able to detect differences among various classes of users.
Abstract: An instrument to measure the various ways people use computers was developed and evaluated. Computers can be used as word processors, game machines, communication tools, accounting tools, and for a myriad of other applications. The Computer Use Scale (CUS) measures how people use computers across four dimensions: Enthusiasm, Entertainment, Efficiency, and Communication. These scales measure the extent to which individuals use computers as “cutting-edge” technology, as playthings, as tools to create better work in less time, or to communicate with others. The scale was found to be reliable and was able to detect differences among various classes of users. Applications of the scale to computer training, software design, and job placement are discussed.
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of electronic communication (i.e., e-mail and listserv communication) among triads of student teachers, college supervisors, and cooperating teachers were investigated.
Abstract: This study sought to determine the effects of electronic communication (i.e., e-mail and listserv communication) among triads of student teachers, college supervisors, and cooperating teachers. Twenty-one volunteer participants began as the initial cohort: five college supervisors, eight cooperating teachers, and eight preservice teachers. Each participant had a portable computer equipped with a modem. Four data sets were used: 1) individual self-assessments; 2) printouts of all e-mail communication related to the project; 3) printouts of all listserv responses; and 4) within-triad and between-triad group assessments. Participants' self-reporting of computer proficiency showed significant differences. The nature of participants' e-mail messages (e.g., lesson plan discussions) and listserv responses are discussed in relation to their overall evaluation of this opportunity.
TL;DR: Posttest findings revealed that participants showed a decrease in computer anxiety through their involvement in the course, and the lowest levels of anxiety were associated with graduate rank and prior teaching experience.
Abstract: This article presents the methods and outcomes of a semester-long course in hypermedia authoring and instructional strategies for preservice teachers. Participants were required to learn a hypermedia authoring program and work in cooperative learning groups to produce a hypermedia software product for use with children with special needs. Data were collected from process logs; semi-structured, open-ended interviews; questionnaires; and pretest and posttest measures of computer anxiety. During the development of their projects, participants spent nearly an equal amount of time planning their software as they did in the mechanics of producing the software. Posttest findings revealed that participants showed a decrease in computer anxiety through their involvement in the course, and the lowest levels of anxiety were associated with graduate rank and prior teaching experience. Following the course, participants expressed confidence in their abilities to author hypermedia software and an interest in future inv...
TL;DR: The authors found that participants' greater familiarity with the meanings and relationships among technical terms would lead to improved performance on a memory task, while experts were biased toward recognizing relevant words over neutral words, while novices showed the opposite pattern.
Abstract: Our after-school recreational activity system (called “The Fifth Dimension”) has the goal of encouraging multiple literacies in school-aged children, including computer literacy. In keeping with its recreational, non-instructional flavor, there is no formal computer curriculum, despite the prevalence of computer use. The current research addresses the effects of exposure to this environment on children's computer knowledge, hypothesizing that participants' greater familiarity with the meanings and relationships among technical terms would lead to improved performance on a memory task. Memory for words that were neutral with respect to the Fifth Dimension was compared to memory for words that were specific to our computer tools and words associated with other aspects of the Fifth Dimension. Fifth Dimension novices were compared to children who had visited at least eleven times. Experts were biased toward recognizing both types of relevant words over neutral words, while novices showed the opposite pattern....
TL;DR: Schustack, Strauss, and Worden as mentioned in this paper investigated the potential educational value of computer clubs and found that computer clubs offer a particularly promising type of out-of-school learning environment because children tend to enjoy using computer software.
Abstract: The following group of three articles addresses the timely issue of whether participation in an after-school computer club can promote useful cognitive changes in students. Out-of-school learning environments are becoming increasingly important venues for cognitive growth in children. First, the amount of time for in-school learning is severely limited. For example, in the United States, a typical fifth-grader spends approximately 1,OOO hours per year in school but less than half of that time is allocated to academic subjects [l]. The amount of time devoted to productive academic learning in a typical U.S. elementary school may be about 300 hours per year, which is less time than most children spend watching television [2]. Clearly, there is a need to supplement classroom learning with other kinds of useful learning environments. Second, changes in family structure have increased the need for out-of-school learning environments such as after-school programs, before-school programs, and summer programs. A crucial educational question concerns the potential value of out-of-school learning environments for promoting students’ opportunities to grow. In these articles, we focus on the potential educative value of a network of after-school computer clubs called the Fifth Dimension [3,4 (Schustack, Strauss, and Worden, this issue)]. Computer clubs offer a particularly promising type of out-of-school learning environment because children tend to enjoy using computer software. In addition, computer clubs allow for a more balanced relation between children and adults than the typical school environment because children often know more about certain aspects of a computer-based learning environment
Journal Article•
TL;DR: ArtView as discussed by the authors allows groups of learners to converse from disparate locations in a shared space while viewing an image that has been preloaded by the instructor, allowing the instructor to customize background or contextual information necessary to supplement the online conversations.
Abstract: Considering the educational importance of dialogue among students, faculty, and professionals, this article examines a computer-mediated communication tool designed to support online learning through conversation ArtView, developed by Cornell University's Interactive Multimedia Group, allows groups of learners to converse from disparate locations in a shared space while viewing an image that has been pre-loaded by the instructor An online database provides a ready-reference, allowing the instructor to customize background or contextual information necessary to supplement the online conversations This article describes and reports the results of user-testing conducted in conjunction with a college course, “Art in the Electronic Age” Through qualitative techniques, learners compare and contrast their experiences in a face-to-face guided visit and discussion with a computer-mediated viewing and discussion using ArtView Museums were seen as providing an attractive element of personal choice and an outsta