The increasing popularity and rapid development of the Internet and specifically the World-Wide Web in recent years has led to an exponential growth of users around the world in many different application areas. Following this growing trend, many eager educators have also embraced this new technology and have begun to use it as a tool in delivering education. A plethora of applications has already been developed in an attempt to implement educational content in this way. A general concern for many researchers is that most of these applications are not efficient in delivering educational outcomes and fail to achieve their educational goal. In the present project we propose that the present failure to deliver educational outcomes in an efficient way has its origins in the lack of concern and focus of developers on modern learning theory. Therefore, in this work we establish the foundations in terms of an interdisciplinary contribution from areas such as, educational learning theory, human-computer interaction and web design guidelines for the design and implementation of web pages aimed at facilitating the teaching and tutoring of basic statistics concepts. As a result of this work, a specific set of learning theories were researched and analyzed, the basic ideas of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) were explored and a set of appropriate principles from HCI were chosen. Furthermore, a selected group of Web design guidelines were researched, studied and selected to ensure that the final product contributes to the efficient delivery of subject content and effective achievement of learning outcomes. In addition, a number of parallels were formulated and discussed between the different areas of research. The establishment of a series of combined principles will not only contribute to the aims of the present project but also to further projects initiated by the Department of Econometrics at The University Sydney.

Accepted teaching and learning practices have undergone major changes during the past two decades. They have been underpinned by shifts in psychological and pedagogical theory, the most recent of which fit broadly under the heading of constructivism. During this time, there have also been significant changes in the development of Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) resources. These changes have tended to be driven by technological developments, such as the availability of desktop computers with multimedia capabilities, and more recently the increasing prominence of the Internet, rather than developments in teaching and learning theory. The aim of this research is to analyse the implications of a constructivist view of teaching and learning for the development of CAL resources. Specifically, the research attempts to describe the nature of constructivist CAL resources, before proposing a model for the development of such resources. The capabilities of existing tools for the development of constructivist CAL resources are also analysed. In looking at the nature of constructivist CAL resources, developments in pedagogical theory that have lead to the constructivist position are reviewed, along with constructivist theories of teaching practice. This body of theory is then synthesised into ten principles of constructivist teaching and learning. The implications of a constructivist view of teaching and learning for CAL resources are then examined. A range of constructivist CAL approaches are identified, and a classification scheme for constructivist CAL is proposed. This scheme involves the classification of a CAL approach according to the learner activities it facilitates, the input techniques used and the processing and output techniques used. The process of developing CAL resources is then addressed. The selection of CAL approaches that are likely to assist with the achievement of specific categories of learning outcome is recognised as being central to this process. Matrices relating categories of learning outcome to categories of learner activity and categories of learner activity to categories of input, processing and output technique are proposed. A model for developing CAL resources, that makes use of these matrices is proposed. In developing this model, instructional design models and software development models are reviewed. Finally, support provided by existing authoring tools, for the development of constructivist CAL resources using the proposed model is examined. Six of the most popular authoring tools, including tools designed primarily for CD-ROM based resource development and tools designed primarily for Web-based development are reviewed.

Thesis (M. S. in Biomedical Engineering)--Vanderbilt University, Dec. 2007. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2006. / Title from title page screen, viewed on April 22, 2007. Dissertation Committee: Cheri A. Toledo (chair), Adel T. Al-Bataineh, Charles D. Dziuban, Vicky L. Morgan, Wendy G. Troxel. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 233-244) and abstract. Also available in print.

Computer Aided Teaching System (CATSY) is an interactive menu driven system that provides an instructor/presenter with an efficient teaching tool using microcomputer technology and a large screen projection system to enhance lecture presentations. Included in this thesis are descriptions of supporting graphics software and the computer peripherals used in the development of CATSY.The development of data structures used in CATSY is stressed in this thesis, along with their application to manipulate graphics and text. This thesis is intended to support and complement the masters thesis presented by Mr. Vincent Pedraza, which presents the system overview and system applications.

This study examined the effects of computer-assisted testing on text anxiety, achievement and student attitudes toward a course. One hundred students from an undergraduate educational psychology class were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The first group of students was assigned to take all of their unit examinations using computer-assisted testing (CAT). For those in the CAT group, examinations were presented on microcomputers. The second group of students took the same examinations using regular paper and pencil testing procedures (RT). With the exception of testing methods, an attempt was made to keep all other factors relating to course administration consistent for both groups. Pre and posttest measures of the students' levels of test anxiety were obtained during the course, using the Achievement Anxiety Test (AAT). Both debilitating and facilitating anxiety scores were used from the AAT. Achievement was assessed using a comprehensive final examination at the end of the course. Student attitudes toward the course were measured using a course evaluation form. It was hypothesized that assignment to CAT would result in higher scores on the facilitating anxiety scales and lower scores on the debilitating anxiety scale. The study also postulated that students exposed to CAT would demonstrate higher levels of performance on the final achievement test. Finally, it was theorized that students in the CAT group would rate the course more positively than the students exposed to regular testing procedures. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance procedures. The results of the analysis indicated that there were no significant differences between the CAT and RT groups in terms of test anxiety, achievement, or attitudes toward the course. In comparing traditional and computer-assisted testing, the present study suggests that it may be possible to obtain the ease of test administration, feedback, item analysis, and record keeping provided by a computer, without affecting student testing behaviors or test norms.

A key aspect of how we understand the world revolves around an ability to manipulate our surroundings to experiment. From the scientific method through theories of child development, the ability to experiment is deemed critical; however, few studies have been performed to understand the strengths and weaknesses of different experimental strategies. This dissertation investigated the effectiveness of several different experimental strategies when learning about an unknown system. An empirical study was performed using binary functions as hypotheses and using computer programs to model several different experimental strategies. These strategies were derived from our definition of a normative experiment selector, which described how an idealized experimenter should select experiments. A detailed program of study was performed on these computer programs to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the experimental strategies they implemented. The number of experiments needed to determine a target theory from an initial set of hypotheses was measured. Two key discoveries were made. First, we discovered that simple experimental strategies were the most effective. For example, the most effective strategy we discovered was experimental relevance selecting any experiment guaranteeing elimination of at least a single hypothesis from the set being considered. Complex strategies to determine the optimal experiment to perform were very costly for a slight performance gain. Second, we discovered that only two factors had any major effect on performance: the number of experimental outcomes and the number of initial hypotheses considered. The number of experiments available to the experiment selector had little or no effect. Our best situations were where: (a) only a small number of hypotheses were possible, (b) each experiment had a large number of outcomes, and (c) relevant experiments were easy to determine and perform. / Graduation date: 1991

Job aids are instruments used on the job to improve human performance by enhancing the knowledge and/or skills of performers. Conventional job aids are usually printed on paper; examples include checklists, recipes, and decision tables. Expert systems are computerized job aids which interact with novices to help solve problems normally reserved for human experts. Because expert systems emulate human intelligence, they are sometimes called intelligent job aids. The purpose of this study was to extend the body of knowledge concerning conventional and intelligent job aids. The intent was to learn what major differences and similarities exist in the design, development, and application of conventional and intelligent job aids. If meaningful differences in the application were found, an additional aim was to determine why they existed. Job aids were developed to assist technicians in diagnosing problems with Robert Bosch electronic fuel injection systems found on certain John Deere diesel engines. The job aids were validated and then field tested by 42 John Deere technicians. Subjects used both job aids to solve problems with a mock fuel system. The diagnoses were video-taped for later evaluation, and subjects proffered their opinions about the job aids through questionnaires and in interviews. For this project, the intelligent job aid contained more textual and graphical content and required significantly more time and resources to develop. In terms of accuracy and efficiency, the job aids were comparable. Most users preferred the intelligent job aid though it required more time to learn to use than the conventional job aid. The age, education, or experience of the users did not influence their opinions of the job aids. However, the order in which the job aids were used did affect opinions; subjects that used the conventional job aid prior to the intelligent job aid were more likely to prefer the intelligent job aid. Implications for job aid project selection, design, and application are provided. / Graduation date: 1991

The purpose of this dissertation study was to investigate a specific computer-assisted instructional software, Study Hall 101, in fifth-grade science. The study was conducted on an urban, elementary school campus in a northeastern school district in Texas. A mixed-methods approach was utilized in an attempt to understand two teachers’ perceptions about its use in fifth-grade science and evaluate its impact on fifth-grade students’ attitudes toward science. The first inquiry employed a qualitative research design in an attempt to understand teachers’ perceptions towards the use of Study Hall 101. Data collection methods used in this study included interviews, focus groups, and electronic-mail (e-mail) responses to open-ended sentence stems. Four favorable themes emerged from teachers’ responses: (1) students' attitudes toward science, (2) students’ participation in science class discussions, (3) content individualization, and (4) students’ engagement. Teachers’ frustrations also emerged into themes: (1) time constraints, (2) technology glitches, and (3) specific design elements. The second inquiry employed a quantitative research design in an attempt to investigate the impact of Study Hall 101 on seventy fifth-grade students’ attitudes toward science after an eight-week period. The Modified Attitudes Toward Science Inventory (mATSI) was used for data collection and was administered to students on two occasions, before and after treatment. Results indicated no statistically significant change in fifth-grade students’ overall attitudes toward science as a result of its use; however, two statistically significant findings did occur when data were analyzed across attribute variables of gender, ethnicity, and economic status, as well as specific domains within the mATSI. First, the use of Study Hall 101 was associated with males’ and females’ attitudes in opposite ways in regard to one domain of the mATSI: self-concept toward science. Second, students in the control group experienced a decline in another attitude domain of the mATSI: desire to do science. The results of this study contribute to the field of K-12 education as we search for effective educational tools to reach diverse student populations. This study concludes that teachers’ perceptions of this software are favorable and that its use in fifth-grade science should be considered as a tool to engage students in their own learning process.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Lehigh University, 2000. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-152).