Computer Based Instruction

Over the past century, educational psychologists and researchers have posited many theories to explain how individuals learn, i.e. how they acquire, organize and deploy knowledge and skills. The 20th century can be considered the century of psychology on learning and related fields of interest (such as motivation, cognition, metacognition etc.) and it is fascinating to see the various mainstreams of learning, remembered and forgotten over the 20th century and note that basic assumptions of early theories survived several paradigm shifts of psychology and epistemology. Beyond folk psychology and its naïve theories of learning, psychological learning theories can be grouped into some basic categories, such as behaviorist learning theories, connectionist learning theories, cognitive learning theories, constructivist learning theories, and social learning theories. Learning theories are not limited to psychology and related fields of interest but rather we can find the topic of learning in various disciplines, such as philosophy and epistemology, education, information science, biology, and – as a result of the emergence of computer technologies – especially also in the field of computer sciences and artificial intelligence. As a consequence, machine learning struck a chord in the 1980s and became an important field of the learning sciences in general. As the learning sciences became more specialized and complex, the various fields of interest were widely spread and separated from each other; as a consequence, even presently, there is no comprehensive overview of the sciences of learning or the central theoretical concepts and vocabulary on which researchers rely. The Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning provides an up-to-date, broad and authoritative coverage of the specific terms mostly used in the sciences of learning and its related fields, including relevant areas of instruction, pedagogy, cognitive sciences, and especially machine learning and knowledge engineering. This modern compendium will be an indispensable source of information for scientists, educators, engineers, and technical staff active in all fields of learning. More specifically, the Encyclopedia provides fast access to the most relevant theoretical terms provides up-to-date, broad and authoritative coverage of the most important theories within the various fields of the learning sciences and adjacent sciences and communication technologies; supplies clear and precise explanations of the theoretical terms, cross-references to related entries and up-to-date references to important research and publications. The Encyclopedia also contains biographical entries of individuals who have substantially contributed to the sciences of learning; the entries are written by a distinguished panel of researchers in the various fields of the learning sciences.

Multimedia-Based Instructional Design is a thoroughly revised and updated second edition of the best-selling book that provided a complete guide to designing and developing interactive multimedia training. While most training companies develop their training programs in many different technological delivery media—computer-based, web-based, and distance learning technologies—this unique book demonstrates that the same instructional design process can be used for all media. Using just one process reduces cycle time for course development—and also reduces costs.

Since it was first published almost twenty years ago, Developing Technical Training has been a reliable resource for both new and seasoned training specialists. The third edition of this classic book outlines a systematic approach called the Instructional Systems Design (ISD) process that shows how to teach technical content defined as facts, concepts, processes, procedures, and principles. Whether you teach “hard” or “soft” skills, or design lessons for workbooks or computers, you will find the best training methods in this book. Using these techniques, you can create learning environments that will lead to the most efficient and effective acquisition of new knowledge and skills. Throughout the book, Clark defines each content type and illustrates how to implement the best instructional methods for delivery in either print or e-learning media.

Can computer applications help improve student performance? For what skills, grade levels, content areas, and type of students are computer applications most effective? Can computer applications improve student attitude toward school and decrease drop-out rates? Discover what the research reveals--in this provocative new book--about these and other crucial questions concerning the impact of computer-based instruction. Assessing the Impact of Computer-Based Instruction provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date summary available on the effects of computer applications on both student achievement and attitudes. Within its pages are also the most extensive bibliography ever prepared on past reviews of research, current reports and articles, and dissertations in the area of computer uses in education. This groundbreaking new book provides educational decisionmakers with the facts they need in order to justify the expense and effort of maintaining and expanding the instructional role of computers in schools. It is also useful as a resource text in the pre-service training of computer educators and for graduate students doing research in instructional computing.

This collection of papers is the result of a symposium sponsored by NATO's Defense Research Group Panel VIII in the Spring of 1985. The symposium came into being when it became obvious to the NATO countries that research, development and utilization of advanced technologies for training was the best means of increasing both training effectiveness and efficiency. This symposium was the second in a series of three devoted to training. The series was structured to cover all aspects of training. The first series addressed the value of training, the second one dealt with the application of training technologies and the third and last of the series focused on academic issues concerned with the effect of prior learning on subsequent learning. The fact that a major American publisher has determined that computer based instruction is the technology of greatest interest to the NATO community is not surprising. Advances in microprocessor technology have revolutionized both how and where we train. During this symposium there were a limited number of carefully chosen exhibits to demonstrate the various applications of computer based training techniques. In the following papers you will find both a practical and scientific basis for the way current and future training and training systems should be designed, applied and utilized. We know that training must be done faster and more effectively.