Journal of Educational Computing Research

The purposes of this article are to 1) examine the changes which have occurred in the development and evaluation of ITS systems for the last twenty years, 2) speculate on future directions, and 3) propose a conceptual model to evaluate and institutionalize this technological innovation into training and educational settings. First, we review theoretical and technical dimensions that could be considered relevant to internal evaluation of ITS technology. Secondly, we discuss evaluation dimensions which, while external to ITS per se, are relevant for situational evaluation of any technological innovation. After theoretical and methodological discussions of intelligent features and effectiveness of ITS, its research and development activities are examined from a historical perspective. The development of ITS is divided into three stages and the development focus for each stage is discussed to show the shifts. It is observed that theoretical and methodological criticisms of ITS, needs unique to practical applications, and development of computer technology have influenced the shifts of ITS development focuses: purpose, staffing, hardware and software technology used, and contributions. In stage III, most recent development focuses and future prospects are discussed, including investigation of specific instructional strategies, creation of flexible environments for instructional strategy research, modeling of the human tutor, simulation of human learning and cognition, and creation of multimedia environments. After discussing problems associated with moving ITS from the laboratory to an institutionalized part of the practical world, a conceptual model for evaluating technological innovation in training and educational environments is proposed. This model considers the technology purpose, processes, outcome measures, and the maturity of the technological innovation (the latter especially relevant for ITS). It has three major stages: adoption, implementation, and institutionalization and two major processes: assimilation and accommodation of the innovation. These stages and processes occur within a context of multiple levels of users/stakeholders or decision-makers. Taken together they make up the dimensions of the evaluation model for any technological innovation, including ITS.

The effects of prior experience and gender stereotyping upon the computer anxiety, confidence and liking of 144 male and female students who had just commenced their studies at university were examined. Males were found to have lower computer anxiety, higher confidence and greater liking than females. When the effects of prior experience and gender stereotyping were removed however, no significant sex difference on these measures remained. The pattern of associations between experience, gender stereotyping variables and computer attitude measures differed for males and females. Greater experience at home was associated with lower anxiety for both sexes, with higher confidence for males and with greater liking for females. The influence of other family members also differed for the two sexes. The attitudes of both males and females were more positive if they had a brother who used computers, but the influence of father's use was positive for males only, while the influence of mother's use was positive for females only. For females but not males, higher scores on the Masculinity scale of the Bern Sex Role Inventory were associated with more positive computer attitudes. The results demonstrate the importance of experience, particularly in a home context, and of gender stereotyping in determining how males and females perceive computers.

Developmental differences in children's production and recall of computer-presented information was examined at varying levels of action and verbal labels when presented in list or story conditions. Forty children, equally distributed by grades kindergarten and second, were randomly assigned to a list or story condition. Within each condition, the same twenty-four objects (six sets of four objects) were presented with or without action and verbal labels. Kindergartners were more responsive to, and dependent upon, action and verbal labels for their production and recall of object names than were second graders. Results suggest a developmental shift from feature-dependence to feature-independence in children's computer information processing activities.

This study investigated the effects of comprehension-directed and memory-directed computer-based learning-strategy training on the achievement of learning objectives. The subjects were sixty undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory computing course. Learners completed a tutorial about microcomputer components on the first day of the study. Two treatment groups completed a strategy-training tutorial focusing on comprehension or memory. The control group received extra time on the microcomputer-components tutorial and no strategy training. One week later, all subjects completed two separately administered tests including cued recall and recognition. The strategy training effects were significant on the fifty-item cued recall test, however, group mean scores were at or below 50 percent. Group mean scores on a recognition text suggested that comprehension-directed training was the most effective. All treatment group mean scores were significantly higher than the control group. The findings of this study provide a basis for further research into the design of computer-based learning-strategy training and assessment.

The newer methods of assessment that could become part of a licensure or certification program for physicians in the next decade include standardized patients which assess clinical skills and four computer-based methods that provide an assessment of cognitive ability: simple computerized tests, computer simulations, adapting item presentation, and continuous testing. The prognosis for standardized patients is mixed, with implementation more likely to occur outside of the U.S. Over the next five years, simple computerized tests will be implemented and significant strides will be made in computer simulations and adapting item presentations. These two methods should be implemented toward the end of the decade. The prognosis for the use of continuous testing is poor because so much fundamental work is needed.

Given their graphic capabilities, computers may facilitate the construction of geometric concepts. Comparative media research, however, reveals few differences between media; alterations in curricula or teaching strategies might also explain the positive results of many studies that compare computer to noncomputer media. Yet, there remain certain computer functions that non-computer media may not easily duplicate. This article reviews research to describe such functions of construction-oriented environments and to evaluate their unique contributions to students' learning of geometry. Implications for the design of geometric computer environments for geometry education are drawn.