Effective school-based alcohol prevention programs do exist. However, the overall efficacy of these programs has been compromised by implementation failure and a focus on abstinence based outcomes. The current thesis attempted to overcome such concerns by developing a computer-delivered school-based alcohol prevention program founded on a harm-minimisation approach. The aims of this thesis were to assess whether (1) this program would be both a feasible and acceptable means of overcoming the obstacles encountered in the implementation of school-based drug prevention programs, and (2) it was effective in decreasing alcohol misuse and related harm. CLIMATE Schools: Alcohol Module was developed in collaboration with teachers, students and relevant health and legal professionals. The final curriculum based program consists of six lessons, each with two components. The first component involves students completing an interactive computer-based program, with the second consisting of a variety of individual, small group and class-based activities. The feasibility and efficacy of CLIMATE Schools: Alcohol Module was assessed utilising a cluster randomised controlled trial involving 1434, Year 8 students (13 years old) from sixteen schools. CLIMATE Schools: Alcohol Module was found to be both feasible and acceptable in the school setting. The provision of alcohol prevention information in the background of a computerised teenage drama provided young people with an education program they enjoyed in a context to which they could relate. Teachers reported a willingness to implement CLIMATE Schools: Alcohol Module in routine practice. They believed it to be a high quality program which was superior to other drug education programs. CLIMATE Schools: Alcohol Module led to significant increases in knowledge of harm minimisation skills and subdued alcohol related expectancies. It was effective in reducing alcohol use, misuse and related harms for females, but not for males. The differential effects of gender are extensively discussed and implications for future research considered. CLIMATE Schools: Alcohol Module was clearly both feasible and acceptable and has the potential to offer an innovative new platform for the delivery of prevention programs in schools.

FundaWethu is reading software that is designed to deliver reading lessons to Grade R-3 (foundation phase) children who are learning to read in a multilingual context. Starting from a premise that the system should be both educative and entertaining, the system allows literacy researchers or teachers to construct rich multimedia reading lessons, with text, pictures (possibly animated), and audio files. Using the design-based research methodology which is problem driven and iterative, we followed a user-centred design process in creating FundaWethu. To promote sustainability of the software, we chose to bring teachers on board as “co-designers” using the lesson authoring tool. We made the authoring tool simple enough for use by non computer specialists, but expressive enough to enable a wide range of beginners reading exercises to be constructed in a number of different languages (indigenous South African languages in particular). This project therefore centred on the use of designbased research to build FundaWethu, the design and construction of FundaWethu and the usability study carried out to determine the adequacy of FundaWethu.

From Introduction: The impact of computer technology has not yet been felt in South African primary schools. Yet it is believed that the effect of microelectronics on society will cause a revolution as significant as the industrial revolution. Whereas the industrial revolution amplified and extended the power of human muscles, the new microcomputer technology will mostly be concerned with amplifying and extending the power of the human mind. In order that the future generation might come to terms with the rapidly changing conditions, it is suggested that children of school age benefit by gaining experience with the new technology. It was against this background of challenge that I began to explore various uses of the new technology. The Cockcroft Committee (1982) investigation considered many aspects of mathematics teaching in primary and secondary schools in England. They gave a clear indication of the place of the microcomputer in mathematics teaching when they made this significant observation, "There can be no doubt that the increasing availability of microcomputers in schools offers considerable opportunity to teachers of mathematics to enhance their existing practice and also to work in ways which have not hitherto been possible." (para. 402). The aspect of 'doing' mathematics 'in ways which have not hitherto been possible' caught my attention. I saw the microcomputer as a powerful tool which would extend the children's range of mathematical experiences through the use of simulations. Seymour Papert (1980) propounds an exciting vision of education for the future which consists of collaboration between computers and children. His philosophy does not allow for computers programming children through drill and practice methods. He envisages the child programming the computer and mastering the powerful technology by using a highly active problem solving method. Besides learning problem solving skills, the aspect most emphasized by Papert (1971, 1972, 1980) is that through building and experimenting with computer programs, a child ought to gain new mathematical insights in the topic under investigation.

A major objective of Academic Development Programmes is to support the student in acquiring a level of language competence which is sufficient to enable the student to cope with the linguistic demands of academic courses. Language teaching programmes in the Academic Development context in South Africa suffer from a number of constraints: staffing, time on task, relevance, and difficulty of integration with learning in other coUrses. A review of developments in the field of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) shows that computers can be used to support language learning. CALL materials range from simple instructional programs to powerful linguistic research tools and need to be integrated into wider language programmes so as to support and enhance other teaching and learning activities. However, relatively little research has been done to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of CALL in language development courses within Academic Development programmes in South Africa. The development of a system designed to enable students to practise proof-reading and editing is described and evaluated. Suggestions are made for using this system with other CALL materials within a computer assisted language development environment. It is argued that CALL can be used feasibly and effectively in this environment to enhance learning and to counteract constraints.

Succesful computer technology use can be achieved through teachers, students, and support from staff members, administrators, and even parents. Technology needs to continue to be a standard that all teachers and students strive to meet as they do all other standards in school. Innovative and sucessful teachers use technology in their daily lesson plans, lesson implementation, and use it as motivation for their students.

This project examines the creation of an online tutor training Web site designed to teach those tutors at the California State University, San Bernardino's Learning Center who cannot attend tutor training in person. The training Web site utilizes the instructional design ADDIE model.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

A computer program and an associated instruction manual were developed to fill a need for a useful learning tool for the study of transmission network power-flow programming techniques. Past programs were found to use techniques that did not give the student "hands-on" programming lessons, but instead gave them practice at using "pull-down menu" type of programming experience. The PFLOW program written is intended to be used "hands-on" with a complete instruction manual included to help the student use the program successfully and study the complete analysis technique. This includes network modelling, structure of input data, understanding program software, and correct meaning of outputs based on the complete knowledge of program solution methods. Sample input and outputs are also included to help get the student started, and to demonstrate the use of the PFLOW program. This program should prove beneficial to those with a general background in power transmission systems analysis.

The fundamental purpose of this research is to establish whether mathematics can be taught effectively with the use of appropriate media and to further establish the possible effects of media in the teaching of mathematics. The research touched on the principles and guidelines of media selection and the various methods that could be utilized in conjunction with media in the teaching of mathematics in the pre-primary and primary schools. In media selection, the emphasis was that media must be chosen objectively rather than on the basis of personal preference and that the effectiveness of media is dependent on the suitability of the physical conditions surrounding it. The overall findings regarding media utilization is that most educators believe that media used in conjunction with a suitable or appropriate method should help to actualize what is expected from the learner. The research method in this study can be divided into a literature study and an empirical investigation. The literature study was done with a view to support the introductory orientation of this study. The focus was on learning as an active process, it also highlighted how the young learners acquire knowledge and how their interaction with their environment impacts on their cognitive development. The research also dealt with concept formation with special reference to the variety of concepts such as physical sensory concepts, action-function concepts, evaluative concepts and abstract concepts. The questionnaire was used to gather data from seventy (70) educators about media integration in the teaching of mathematics in the pre-primary and primary schools. An observation guide was also used during the observation of the presentation of twelve (12) lessons by eight (8) teachers from the pre-primary and primary schools. The lessons included the nature and characteristics of media employed in the lessons. The following factors were taken into account: (a) lesson plan layout (b) specific outcomes (c) contact accuracy and relevance (d) learner variables and interest (e) the learning environment and (ij the mediation capabilities of the educator (g) availability of media in schools The discussion of data collected was followed by the data analysis and interpretation. The statistical techniques were used to put the researcher in a position to either reject or accept the null hypothesis. The techniques used were the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test, the Pearson Correlation coefficient, the NPar Test and Friedman Test. On the basis of the findings the researcher has sufficient, concrete evidence to conclude that the results invalidate the null hypothesis tested. Therefore the researcher's conclusion is that: (a) there is a possible effect of media in the teaching of mathematics lessons in the preprimary and primary schools. (b) there is a possible effect of media selection and integration of media in mathematics lessons. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

South African learners continue to perform poorly in high school Circle Geometry. Lack of learner confidence and motivation in Mathematics may be the contributing factors to the low success rate in Circle Geometry. These factors, coupled with Conventional Teaching Instructions (CTI), may have contributed to the significant reduction in the number of learners enrolled for Mathematics, and provided a rationale for the study that explored a possible alternative teaching pedagogy to motivate and eventually improve learner performance in Circle Geometry. The study aimed to investigate the comparative effects of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) and CTI on the performance and motivation of Grade 11 learners in the topic of Circle Geometry. The population of the study consisted of Grade 11 Mathematics learners from 65 secondary schools in the Ekurhuleni North District of Gauteng province in South Africa. Using convenience sampling techniques two schools with n=136 Grade 11 Mathematics learners and two teachers participated in the study. One school formed the experimental group (n=71) and the other school formed the control group (n=65). The study followed a quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group approach consisting of pre-and post-test measures. Intact classes participated in the study as it was not possible to randomly select participants for the study. Both groups wrote a standardised achievement pre-test to ascertain their performance status at the beginning of the study. CAI was implemented in the experimental school while CTI was implemented in the control school. A similar post-test was administered on both groups to measure the comparative effects of each teaching method on the performance of learners. A questionnaire was also administered to both groups to measure the motivation of learners. A purposive sample (n=12) was selected from both groups to participate in semi-structured interviews to account for the results of the test and the questionnaire. A socio-constructivist theory framed the study. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyse data. The results of this investigation indicated that the use of the computer software, GeoGebra, in the teaching and learning of Circle Geometry improved the performance and motivation of Grade 11 learners. / Mathematics Education / M. Ed. (Mathematics Education)