The purpose of this research was to determine whether the use of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) would enhance the teaching of handwriting skills. There is only one commercially available courseware for handwriting instruction and very little research in this area has been conducted. In view of the paucity of research, this investigator explored the effects of the use of CAI on the handwriting skills of Spanish-speaking children between the ages of 4 and 7 years. Subjects were randomly divided into three groups: Group 1 received traditional handwriting instruction, Group 2 participated in CAI, and Group 3 participated in CAI but also was given reinforcement. Pretests were administered to establish an initial baseline for each subject. Progress was measured weekly in order to determine the impact of the interventions. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare mean number of letters correctly written by each group each week. A significant difference in mean number of letters correctly written existed among the three groups of subjects at Week 5 (p =.04) and Week 6 (p =.019). Scheffe procedures revealed CAI with reinforcement resulted in significantly (p $<$.05) greater improvement in handwriting skills than did traditional instruction. It may be concluded from these results that CAI with reinforcement can greatly enhance the learning of handwriting skills.

The purpose of this study was to determine how continuous on-line communication could help meet the needs of beginning teachers, foster reflection of both the mentor and the protégé, and serve as a medium for open dialogue. Two problems that this study directly addressed were (a) current mentoring programs not offering support which is systematic and ongoing; (b) the lack of training provided for mentor teachers. The significant findings from this study can be grouped into three categories: (a) how on-line communication influenced discussions, (b) how on-line communication influenced group cohesion, and (c) how on-line communication paralleled and differed from traditional mentoring parameters.

This study investigated the attitudes and opinions of students and teachers regarding the use of computers with students having special learning needs. Using a quasi-experimental design with three non-equivalent groups, within and between subjects effects were studied using a survey instrument and follow-up interviews. The students and teachers at three school sites, consisting of students in grades 5 through 13, participated in pre and post-test surveys. One site served as the experimental group, while the other two were control groups. The experimental condition consisted of the installation of a campus-wide computer network for use by all students and teachers at the experimental site. The survey consisted of demographic questions as well as 26 pre-test and 27 post-test questions. A 19 item scale measured participants' general attitudes about computers in schools. A four item scale measured participants' attitudes about the use of computers by students with special needs. Two items served as independent outcome measures of participants' attitudes about students' and teachers' comfort level and worry about computer use. Twelve follow-up interviews were conducted with two students and two teachers from each school. The interviews focused on having participants discuss their attitudes and opinions about the use of computers in special education. The survey data were analyzed using analysis of variance, multiple regression, and repeated measures procedures. The interviews were evaluated using Glaser and Straus' Grounded Theory methods. Results from the surveys showed that there was no correlation between the experimental condition and changes in students' and teachers' attitudes and opinions about computer use in special education. These data also showed that the most significant variables related to students' and teachers' attitudes and opinions were variables related to past experience using computers as well as their school affiliation. The interview data supported the survey results and showed that how the interview participants had used computers in the past related to their current attitudes, opinions. Taken together, these data suggest that schools can shape the computer-related attitudes and opinions of students and teachers. Recommendations include providing students and teachers with regular access to computer uses that are embedded in curricular activities.

The field of education has been confronted with an expansion in the use of technology over the last decade. This expansion has made technology beneficial to individuals who possess disabilities, allowing them more independence by capitalizing on the use of assistive technology. This expansion has also placed technology into the classrooms and adding a new dimension to teaching. This research explored the differences between regular and special education teachers with respect to assistive technology. The participants included teachers in the Boston Public Schools system. Utilizing a questionnaire, the researcher investigated the knowledge and attitudes of regular and special education teachers. In addition, the researcher determined if demographics had an impact on participants, knowledge and attitudes. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Descriptive Statistics, Reliability Analysis, Factor Analysis, t-tests, Analysis of Variance and Regression analysis were utilized to determine if any statistically significant difference were evident between these different groups of teachers.

This research addressed a potential strategy to help boost retention rates for Computer Science undergraduates. A study was conducted at a small New England liberal arts college to determine students' perceptions of e-mail peer-mentoring (EPM). EPM was offered to 40% of students taking the first CS major course (CS1) and was available for the entire semester. EPM participants were assigned peer mentors, selected from an upper-level CS class, to support participants solely via e-mail. Half of the EPM participants knew the name of their mentor while the other half had to communicate anonymously. All participants had additional resources available to them including the textbook, CS department lab tutors, course instructor, and CS1 course tutor. Results indicate that EPM was not well utilized by EPM participants, and that EPM had no significant effect on students' CS interest, CS ability, computer comfort, computer programming, or course completion confidence. Further, knowing or not knowing mentors' names had no significant effect. However, EPM participants recommended that EPM be continued; while they had not needed it, they felt it would be valuable for other students who might need it. Mentors also felt that EPM was worthwhile but that it may be better suited for the more challenging CS2 course. Both participants' and mentors' suggestions notably included an option to hold mentor-mentee meetings. Overall, it seemed that students regarded e-mail as a lower priority among adequate resources for learning assistance.

In educational and instructional technology communities, learning objects have generated a great deal of interest in recent years. The learning object paradigm promises many benefits, most of which have yet to be realized. This dissertation proposes approaches for using learning objects outside of the currently dominant approach, which could be characterized as course-centric and informed by skills training, knowledge-transfer, and a content-delivery orientation. The dissertation examines ways that objects can be used to support learners in two key areas central to the concerns of English departments: critical thinking and development of competence in academic (and other) discourses. I argue against the “seamless course” model of content-delivery in favor of an approach that capitalizes on the modular, component architecture of learning objects by letting learners access and manipulate objects at a granular level. Objects that are searchable, shareable, versionable and annotated provide new ways to represent, manipulate and evaluate structural knowledge, and to tie learning content to discursive knowledge. An ongoing concern throughout the dissertation is the necessary and fruitful bridging of the divide between education and training. It is argued that such a bridge is useful for object initiatives to integrate concept-learning, problem-solving, critical thinking, and the social construction of knowledge.

As distance learning continues to grow throughout American higher education, faculty and administrators must collaborate to implement online programs. Higher education literature suggests that administrators and faculty hold different values, beliefs and practices, differences that may constrain communication when they launch an online program. Grounded in the literature of organizational/academic culture, strategic change, and cultural discourse analysis, this study examines factors that influence what faculty and administrators say and do about online education. Identifying these factors helps scholars and practitioners to better understand and improve on collaborative communication. Special attention was given to contextual differences, including institutional type, size and control; academic discipline; and faculty rank, status and career stage. The qualitative multi-case research design captured the “thick description” necessary to study this phenomenon in a variety of institutional contexts with online programs. The case studies included data from semi-structured interviews, observations, and analysis of documents, artifacts and archival records. The findings suggest that (1) the extent to which individuals perceive alignment between their personal and professional narrative and the goals of an online program shapes subsequent implementation; (2) online education is more attractive to adjunct and tenured faculty members than to junior faculty members; (3) membership in a faculty vs. administrative cultural group contributes to observable differences between what members of each group say and do about online programs; (4) whether an online program is a faculty-led or an administrator-led initiative, the amount of collaboration between the groups impacts the pace, pitfalls and successes that participants experience; (5) characteristics of soft-applied disciplines are conducive to the online delivery format; (6) faculty members perceive administrative support for online programs as a motivational force and as an expression of institutional priority; and (7) leaders of the associate college and the university institutional types encourage online program growth more than their counterparts at the baccalaureate college included this study. This study concludes with implications for scholars and practitioners of online education; advice for administrative and faculty leaders, instructional designers and faculty members; and an initial framework for understanding factors that influence what faculty and administrators say and do about online programs.

An initial test of scientific inquiry skills revealed that students enrolled in a computer enhanced introductory college chemistry class using a guided discovery approach produced significantly larger gains after class instruction compared with two other introductory chemistry classes at the same institution and three introductory science classes at two other college institutions. The purpose of this study was to analyze the instructional strategy in this class to understand how it may have contributed to gains in inquiry skills. Classroom observations of the computer enhanced guided discovery class and two other lecture based chemistry classes, uncovered a pattern of instruction in the guided discovery case that was markedly different from the other two classes, yet more similar to model construction processes of scientists. The central pattern of instruction in the primary case was referred to as the guided discovery approach and was characterized by instructional strategies designed to trigger generate, evaluate, and modify or GEM cycles, other teacher guidance strategies, and the integration of an interactive computer tool. Analysis of classroom observation data and student surveys confirmed a higher frequency of students' generating ideas about chemistry, constructing explanations, and quantitative problem solving in the guided discovery case than the lecture-based classes and a higher rate of teacher requests for students to engage in several of these processes. Small group observations revealed students' reasoning processes as they interacted with their teacher and the computer during instruction. Overall, compared with more traditional forms of chemistry instruction, the evidence suggests that the instructional strategies in the guided discovery case were successful in sustaining student engagement with several fundamental processes of scientific inquiry and may have led to the development of important inquiry skills. The guided discovery case used classroom activities that included finding trends, evaluating extreme cases, using incremental values, making comparisons, asking why, providing discrepant information, designing new tests, working back from the data, and thinking of an individual molecule, as several different strategies to foster inquiry. Rich descriptions of such instructional strategies may offer prescriptive methods for teachers to foster these processes in their classrooms and may represent a promising model for inquiry based instruction.

In this study a model for the design of mathematical software was developed and tested. The model, which is based upon current cognitive theories of learning, was used to design Transformer, a computer learning environment (CLE) for exploring transformational geometry. In a pilot study, the software was used in middle-school classrooms and in in-service workshops, and then refined for use in the current study which tested the design model qualitatively. Two cycles of in-depth interviews were conducted with each of twelve high-school students, who used the CLE to solve geometric problems. Transcripts from videotapes of student work on two problems were extracted and subjected to a protocol analysis. Analysis revealed patterns of misconceptions and patterns of problem-solving approaches by the students, which led to suggested improvements in software design model and in the CLE. The most common misconceptions, confusions regarding reflections and rotations, led to redesigning display features including placement of mirrors and animation of rotation. Many participants found the use of both physical manipulatives and transparent screen overlays a significant problem-solving aid. It was concluded that CLEs which incorporate the use of such manipulatives would be easier to understand for many students. The model was expanded to include design principles of making the CLE accessible to a greater number of students. Implications of the research for mathematics education and for software design are discussed and suggestions for further testing of the model presented. Appendices include a typical protocol analysis of one student's work on a selected problem.

This study deals with the phenomenon of dependency on imported western television programs in the Arab states. The primary concern of this study is that the Arab culture is under siege by western culture through the massive importation of western television programs. This influx has jeopardized the continuity of the indigenous national Arab culture since the content of most of the imported materials has no connection with the authentic culture, which needs help in its promotion and enhancement. The aim of this study is to search for the reasons that cause the Arab governments to depend heavily on imported western programs rather than the nationally produced programs. This study concludes with some suggestions to promote the production and airing of Arab nationally produced programs which could provide a solution or alternatives to the issue, or at least reduce its impact in order to preserve and promote the national Arab culture. The study examines and analyzes the experiment of the Arabian Gulf States Joint Production Programs Institute (AGJPPI) as the first professional and successful Arab educational television production and seeks the secret behind its success. The state of Kuwait is selected as a case study for the research, and presents Kuwait television as a model of Arab television systems.