Abstract: Since schools began using computers for instruction, social critics have questioned the equity of the apportionment of computer resources by sex, race, and social status. Data from our national survey of schools describe how computers are used with different groups of students. We find that the use of school computers differs most dramatically by student interest and ability. Boys and “better” students tend to dominate computer use. But the evidence is weak on the actual consequences of differential uses of computers. We raise, without resolving, the issue of whether schools should reallocate computer resources toward girls and less able students. A fair policy depends upon the relative value of computer-based instruction to fill the educational needs of all children. We need more experimental research to assess the relative value of computer applications in education.

Abstract: Educators throughout the United States are concerned with the issue of delivering computer-based instructional programs to their students. Such a process requires that teachers receive training on the uses of computers in order to implement applications in the classroom. As adult learners they often experience anxiety and frustration during the process of learning. Excessive levels of anxiety can inhibit learning and prevent these individuals from becoming proficient in the use of the computer. This study indicated that the lowering of an individual’s anxiety level occurs over time, and that the timing of such change differs according to the level of previous experience of the participant. Beginners require adequate time working with the computer to allow these anxiety levels to lower, and educators should be cautious about using short-term inservice activities which allow minimal computer contact when working with beginning adults.

Abstract: The attitudes of 78 managers and 63 employees to telecommuting were compared. All subjects had access to a personal computer and were computer literate to some degree. The results showed th...

Abstract: There is some concern that relatively few students in the U.K. elect to study computing and that this number is declining despite the high pay levels of computer staff and emphasis on computing in education. Variables known to be associated with the extent to which an individual is likely to make use of computers are background discipline, attitude to computers and IT, attitude to technology in general, experience of computers and gender. The present study investigates the relationships between these variables for 928 students at an institution of higher education. Subjects had been selected to fall into four discipline areas: COMP (computer/electronic studies), SCIENCE (science courses), HI-IT (non-science courses making heavy use of IT) and LOW-IT (non-science courses making relatively low use of IT). Results indicated that on entry to college, students in the COMP category had more experience with computers than students in other categories and that across all categories, except HI-IT, males had more experience with computers on entry than females. Students in the COMP category also had significantly more knowledge about computers than other students and across all categories males had more knowledge than females on entry. There were relatively minor differences in attitudes to computers and IT with COMP students being slightly more positive than students in the other categories, and there were no differences in attitudes to technology in general across the four categories. There were no consistent gender differences on the attitude variables. Results were discussed with relation to vocational choice and it was concluded that females on computer courses may, in general, be rather less interested in computers per se than their male peers.

Abstract: Results from the 1979 Minnesota Computer Literacy Assessment conducted by the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium, show that high school females performed better than males in some specific areas of programming. The areas of female superiority are those such as problem analysis and algorithmic application where the problems are expressed verbally rather than mathematically. While these findings may result from unique features of computer education in Minnesota, the findings may also be a consequence of the fact that the Minnesota assessment instrument was relatively free of mathematical bias. These findings and those of the 1982 National Assessment of Science on female superiority in “science decision making” imply that women are better than men at tasks usually defined as systems analysis rather than program coding.

Abstract: This paper critically examines current thinking about whether learning computer programming promotes the development of general higher mental functions. We show how the available evidence, and the underlying assumptions about the process of learning to program fail to address this issue adequately. Our analysis is based on a developmental cognitive science perspective on learning to program incorporating developmental and cognitive science considerations of the mental activities involved in programming. It highlights the importance for future research of investigating students’ interactions with instructional and programming contexts, developmental transformation of their programming skills, and their background knowledge and reasoning abilities. There are revolutionary changes afoot in education, in its contents as well as its methods. Widespread computer access by schools is at the heart of these changes. Throughout the world, but particularly in the U.S.A., educators are using computers for learning activities across the curriculum, even designing their own software. But virtually all educators are as anxious and uncertain about these changes and the directions to take as they are optimistic about their ultimate effects. "Now that this admittedly powerful symbolic device is in our schools," they ask. "what should we do with it?" We believe that educators and social scientists are at an important watershed in American education. Important new opportunities abound for research and development work that can influence directly the quality of education. Hard questions are emerging about the design of educational activities that integrate the computer with other media. The volatile atmosphere of choices for schools (and parents), as new hardware and software appear daily, calls for principles and knowledge that educators can use, derived from systematic empirical studies, in laboratories and classrooms, of how children learn with these new information technologies. We also need theoretical debates on the aims and priorities for education in an information age. We believe that a developmental We would like to acknowledge with thanks the Spencer Foundation and the National Institute of Education Contract 400-83-0016) for supporting the research reported here, and for providing the opportunity to write this essay. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of these institutions and no official endorsement should be inferred. Jan Hawkins. Karen Sheingold. Ben Shneiderman and a group of anonymous reviewers provided very useful critical discussions of the data and issues covered n this report. Requests for reprints should be sent to Roy Pea at the address given above.

Abstract: This report discusses a study that provides an opportunity for teachers to speak to policy makers about their experiences with educational technology.

Abstract: The goal of this book is to present a framework within which the myriad of office technologies and office systems design techniques can be better understood. There are a number of office books which deal with the social/organizational aspects of office automation or with office equipment introduction strategies. This book differs from those in that it is written by technical computer people for technical computer people. As such, it assumes a general computer literacy and contains a technical emphasis with a social fiber woven in. Besides the framework, it also presents the current state of office primitives, office tools, and office technology. Particularly at the applications layer, emphasis is placed on the user interface and its design. Some design areas (e.g. window package design) have not been generally treated in the previous literature. In these cases, amalgamation and distillation of useful research ideas of the authors and of others is presented. The book covers relevant work on-going by international standards bodies, and it discusses the concepts that are emerging (or which the authors feel will be emerging) from universities and industrial research laboratories. Office technologies and techniques are classified as personal environment aids versus communal environment aids. Thus there are large sections concerned with workstations and their peripherals, and concerned with communications networks and distributed applications. Clarence Ellis is past head of the Office Research Group at Xerox PARC, and author of the well known Computing Surveys article "Office Information Systems and Computer Science" (1980). Najah Naffah is past head of the KAYAK Office Research Project at the French government INRIA research laboratory, and editor of various international conference proceedings on office information systems.

Abstract: Computer literacy has been identified as one of the most important factors for the effective use of computer-based technology at the workplace. Managers need to know about the most efficient methods available to teach computer skills to their workers in a short time and such methods should be suitable for all employees. This paper investigates several approaches used to teach business students about micro-computers. The results show that hands-on teaching is superior to traditional classroom lectures, especially for academically less inclined students. Directions for future research and implications of these findings for management are discussed.

Abstract: This research study examines performance and engagement in computer literacy of boys and girls (N = 873). Performance and engagement in computer literacy are established with CAST. Computer Alfabetisme Schalen Twente, a Dutch version of the Minnesota Computer Literacy Awareness Assessment. The results of the study show that girls perform lower and are less engaged in computer literacy than boys. Research on sex differences in mathematics and science education shows that three factors are important for the design of action programs for girls, viz. the expectation and behaviour of significant others, the perception of the usefulness of the subject for a future career and a positive attitude towards the subject. This study shows that these factors seem to be relevant for computer literacy too. It has been found that a positive attitude towards mathematics and physics is positively related to a positive attitude towards computer literacy. An examination of the relation between performance in computer literacy and attitude towards mathematics and physics shows no differences in performance between boys and girls with a negative attitude towards mathematics and physics. For boys and girls with a positive attitude towards mathematics and physics however a difference in performance in computer literacy has been found in favour of boys

Abstract: Computer literacy implies an analogy between computer-related skills and linguistic literacy that has not been seriously explored. Recent studies of linguistic literacy can illuminate the definition of computer literacy and can suggest new ways of teaching it.

Abstract: Considerable attention has been focused recently on the development of thinking skills among pre-college students. Advocates of computer-based education have suggested that computerized file-management programs can enhance thinking skills, especially those involving the identification, retrieval, organization and evaluation of information required for effective problem solving. Employing a randomized block design, a two-treatment experiment to test this claim was devised, involving fourteen paired classrooms and 665 seventh- through twelfth-grade students. The treatments and treatment materials were adapted from commercially produced social studies curriculum data bases. The computer-using/structured-activities treatment group achieved significantly higher mean scores than the non-computer-using/non-structured-activities group on a 14-item power test of selected information-processing skills (effect size = .27). The difference persisted when verbal ability and grade level were controlled. Suggestions for ...

Abstract: Coupled with this increase in the number of computers in schools is a concurrent increase in students' involvement in computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and computer-assisted guidance systems. Several studies (Jordan & Stroup, 1982; Maurer, 1983; Rohner & Simonson, 1981) have established that individuals often exhibit a complex array of emotional reactions (including fear) in situations requiring the use of computers. Furthermore, these fears and apprehensions, defined by Maurer (1983) as computer anxiety , may occur even when the situations pose no immediate or real threat. The reality of computer anxiety in students also was noted in the computer literacy objectives developed by the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium's (MECC) Computer Literacy Project and reported by Klassen (1983). Two of the core objectives developed in the MECC project were (a) students not developing feelings of anxiety from computing experiences and (b) the students feeling confident about their computer abilities. Students experiencing computer anxiety may avoid interacting with computers in any setting and thereby eliminate current educational opportunities and possible future career choices. Therefore, it is important for counselors to be able to identify students who experience fears and apprehensions regarding computers. The purpose of this article is to describe the development of an instrument designed to identify computer-anxious students in Grades 4-8 as well as to provide counselors with information on how to use the instrument. A discussion follows regarding the use of computers in schools including a rationale for counselor involvement in this educational trend.

Abstract: SO 018 525 Ehman, Lee H.; Glenn, Allen D. Computer-Based Education in the Social Studies. ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education, Bloomington, IN. Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED) Washington, DC. ISBN-0-941339-03-3 87

Abstract: This study measured to what degree achievement in a computer literacy course related to each of the following variables: general cognitive level, computer aptitude and prior experience using computers, and inherent stress. Subjects were 60 students enrolled in an undergraduate business course designed to teach the use of software packages. Achievement was measured by three course exams. Achievement early in the course was moderately related to measures of computer aptitude and cognitive level, but by the end of the course prior experience using computers emerged as the most important variable. Despite the logical and empirical connections drawn between general cognitive abilities and the ability to learn how to use computers, general abilities may be only marginally relevant to the task of learning to use software.

Abstract: All professional programs approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1984 (N = 204) were surveyed by mail questionnaire to identify ways that students could enhance their graduate school applications. Overall response rate was 51%, with no responding bias for type, size, or geographical area. Preparations preferred by clinical, counseling, and school psychology programs in descending order were: research experience, visit to the department, computer knowledge and skills, paid human service experience, volunteer human service experience, social science double major, and Psi Chi membership. Counseling and school psychology programs rated a master's degree significantly higher and a double major (psychology and basic science) significantly lower than did the clinical psychology programs.

Abstract: Executive Information Systems(EIS) are examined, revealing that although they may be able to deliver information without requiring computer literacy, they have, as yet, several limiting features. Clever marketing and ingenuity in developing personalised applications for micro‐computers have opened new markets of which EIS is one. The characteristics of an “ideal” EIS and the shortfalls of many computer systems produced to date are summarised. Attempts made to meet executive requirements are discussed and criteria set for future technology, such as the use of a combination of in‐house information libraries and outside management reporting systems.

Abstract: The conceptual background and potential use of the Self-Directed Search (SDS): Computer Version (CV) is presented, and the relationship with the paper version of the SDS is explained.

Abstract: It appears that the computer revolution is irreversible and almost every Americians' life will be affected by the use of its technology. More and more jobs will require computer literacy and skills, and as a result more courses will be offered by secondary schools to prepare their students. As this area of computer technology expands, the job market will require individuals that have been trained with various amounts of knowledge and skill. Many states are requiring a certain degree of computer literacy for high school graduation. These requirements are resulting in the development of secondary curriculum guides at the state and national levels.