Journal of Educational Technology Systems

This study focuses on the identification of variables that explain older adults' ownership and/or use of PCs. The data were acquired from telephone interviews with 422 randomly-selected older adults, ages sixty to ninety-seven. The study was conducted during late autumn 1995, throughout the Muncie/Delaware County area, a.k.a. “Middletown, U.S.A.” Regression analysis of ten independent variables (R = 0.4878; R² = 0.2380) found that three variables explained the majority of the variance (R = 0.4748; R² = 0.2255) in the PC variable. The three variables, that had direct effects on PC ownership/usage are in order of magnitude level of education, age, and sex of respondent. In addition, both education and age are influenced by sex.

The study explored the differential effects of intra-group cooperation with and without inter-group competition on interpersonal relationships in a CAI environment in Taiwan. Six classes of fifth-grade students (a total of 192) randomly selected from one primary school in Taipei were randomly assigned to two treatment conditions. Interpersonal relationships among participants were collected via a written post-session, self-report questionnaire measuring subject perceptions toward their own dyad, and other dyads. According to the collected data, statistically significant differences were found between the two treatment conditions in subject perceptions toward their own dyad as well as other dyads. In addition, subjects in the cooperation without inter-group competition condition tended to have better perceptions toward both their own dyad and other dyads than subjects in the cooperation with inter-group competition condition.

The purpose of this study was to analyze motivational effects of type of instructional control on learning from computer-based instruction, according to Keller's ARCS model of motivational design. Forty-eight sixth graders were randomly assigned to either learner or program control groups. Instructional materials were computer-based instructional programs for teaching four concepts utilized in advertisement propaganda techniques. The post-test with fifteen items for learning and Instructional Motivation Measurement Survey with thirty-six statements for motivation were used. The results showed that the group under program control performed better on the post-test than the group under learner control, but there was not a significant difference in Keller's ARCS motivational factors between two groups. Regardless of type of instructional control, however, the level of satisfaction among the factors was higher than that of confidence in the instruction. Such results suggest that ARCS motivational factors in designing effective instructional control strategies can be considered.

The primary purpose of this investigation was to identify the facilitators and inhibitors for the use of computer-assisted instruction (CAI), and to prioritize their relative importance as they were perceived by university faculty. The secondary purpose was to examine differences between the perceptions of education and business faculties and to detect possible interactions among a set of independent variables. For these purposes a survey questionnaire was designed and administered to the faculty of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. The results obtained from sixty-two responding faculty indicated that the two most important facilitators were teachers' knowledge and skills in CAI technology, and the availability of hardware and software. The lack of teachers' time, and the lack of technical support were the two most important inhibitors. Some significant differences were detected between the perceptions of education and business faculties.

This study investigated whether an advance organizer could facilitate learning in a computer simulation environment. It also examined the differential effectiveness of an advance organizer across three different grade levels. Sixty-six students, evenly distributed by grades fifth, sixth, and seventh, participated in the study. Within each grade, students were randomly assigned to the advance organizer group or the non-organizer group. A simulation was developed using HyperCard. A post-test was used to measure effectiveness in terms of achievement gains. Analyses of data showed significant differences between the organizer and the non-organizer groups as well as across grade levels. However, the organizer-by-age interaction was not significant. The instructional effectiveness of the organizer did not rely on age in any significant way.

This study examined whether students' 1) motivation, 2) anxiety, and 3) classroom learning environment in mathematics significantly differed according to the degree of implementation of technology in the mathematics classroom. The participants were 1955 sixth-grade and 1940 eighth-grade students who were randomly chosen from a multi-ethnic school district in the south central region of the United States. The sixth-grade results indicate that students in classes where technology was slightly used had significantly higher Involvement, Satisfaction, and Achievement Motivation than students in classes where technology was moderately or infrequently used. The eighth-grade results revealed that students in classes where technology was slightly used had significantly higher Affiliation, Parent Involvement, and Achievement Motivation, but students in classes where technology was moderately used had significantly higher Satisfaction and significantly lower Mathematics Anxiety.

While use of the Internet and electronic mail has increased tremendously in recent years, almost nothing is known about how administrators in higher education use the technology. Through a survey of student affairs professionals, this study explores administrators' attitudes toward the Internet, listservs, and electronic mail and how they are using these technological tools in their work.