Computer-assisted instruction

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors
affecting the success of computer-assisted instruction (CAI)
programs in selected colleges and universities. Related
questions of interest were posed and answered: What are the
greatest problems or obstacles encountered in establishing
a CAI program? What incentives are offered to faculty members
who develop CAI curriculum materials? Do programs
stand better chances for success when initiated by top level
administrators? Are faculty attitudes deemed important
factors in successful implementation? The study concluded with several recommendations,
two of which follow: (1) A national coordinating agency for
instructional computing should be established; and (2) college
and university administrators should implement computer
literacy courses and require them of all students.
It was also recommended that future researchers might determine
the following: (1) The nature of computer literacy
courses in a sampling of schools and the value of the
courses in the lives of recent graduates, and (2) if extensive
instructional computing facilities in a college or
university help attract outstanding students and faculty
members.

This study compares the achievement in three multimedia instructed World Geography classes between two groups of community college students: those students who were U.S. educated (from primary to secondary schools) and those students who were educated outside of the U.S. (from primary to secondary schools). The research was conducted using three World Geography (GEA 2000) classes at a community college in South Florida, between August 2007 and December 2007. The selected students were divided into two groups: one of U.S. educated students and one of non-U.S. educated students, all of whom volunteered their participation at the beginning of the course. The two groups were mixed males and females. The non-U.S. educated students were educated in 17 different countries. Data were obtained by means of test scores. Statistical analysis of the data was done using SPSS statistical software. The data generated were analyzed statistically by running four t-tests. The .05 level of significance was selected for analysis of data related to the hypotheses. Overall the statistical difference between the achievement of U.S. educated and non-U.S. educated students in their achievement in multimedia instructed geography classes was non-significant as indicated by the results shown in the statistical analysis in the study.

The purpose of this study was to identify (1) the effectiveness of the Intel Essentials model of project-based learning based on student Florida Comprehensive Assessment test (FCAT) reading scores; (2) the differences in student engagement between students in classes with teachers trained in the Intel Essentials model of project-based learning and teachers not trained in the model as measured by the Beliefs about Classroom Structures Survey; (3) the level of implementation (high, average, or low) of teachers trained in the Intel Essentials model of project-based learning; and (4) any correlation between the level of implementation and the level of student engagement. A total of 32 teachers participated in the study. The teachers were split into 2 groups: the experimental group (N = 16) that participated in the Intel Essentials Training, and the control group (N = 16) that did not participate in the training. The results for this study were mixed. The students of the experimental group teachers (N = 780) had significantly higher (p < .05) FCAT scores than that of the control group students (N = 643). The control group with the exception of Motivating Tasks subscale had significantly higher levels of engagement. The correlation between level of implementation and student engagement produced a moderate negative correlation, meaning that the Intel trained teachers with the highest levels of implementation had the lowest levels of engagement.

This study described, analyzed, and compared the internal and external factors that prevented or fostered the implementation of a cognitive tool, GeoGebra, in the mathematics practices of 12 middle school teachers who had completed a master's degree program in mathematics successfully. Through the application of a case study approach as a systematic method for the analysis of qualitative data, and under a social constructivist framework, the study examined different factors such as concerns of teachers; their beliefs about technology, mathematics as a subject, math teaching, and learning; external factors such as resources and school support; their TPACK development; and their instrumental orchestration approach through classroom observations. Among the major findings, the study revealed that the personal concerns of the teacher users of GeoGebra included the desire to continue learning the new features of the software, as well as the desire to connect themselves with others in common endeavors for the benefit of other teachers and, ultimately, the students... There was a consensus among the teacher users that they had to strike a balance between their professional goals and the available resources.

The purpose of this descriptive quantitative and basic qualitative study was to examine fifth and eighth grade science teachers' responses, perceptions of the role of technology in the classroom, and how they felt that computer applications, tools, and the Internet influence student understanding. The purposeful sample included survey and interview responses from fifth grade and eighth grade general and physical science teachers. Even though they may not be generalizable to other teachers or classrooms due to a low response rate, findings from this study indicated teachers with fewer years of teaching science had a higher level of computer use but less computer access, especially for students, in the classroom. Furthermore, teachers' choice of professional development moderated the relationship between the level of school performance and teachers' knowledge/skills, with the most positive relationship being with workshops that occurred outside of the school. Eighteen interviews revealed that teachers perceived the role of technology in classroom instruction mainly as teacher-centered and supplemental, rather than student-centered activities.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of using learner self-assessment and multifaceted instructional strategies on student achievement and retention in online mathematics classes. The study used a quasi-experimental design. The study sample consisted of 35 students who were enrolled during the fall term 2010 in online Precalculus or Trigonometry classes at Palm Beach State College. Both treatment and comparison groups were taught by the researcher. Since the subjects in the study were not randomly assigned, the design was one of nonequivalent groups where the treatment group was compared to a similar group from the previous year. To limit researcher bias, the course exams were the same for both treatment and comparison groups. Five hypotheses were developed to examine the relationships between preferred learning strategies, the use of online tools, and achievement and retention. The five hypotheses were investigated with the following procedures respectively: ANOVA, linear regression, Pearson correlations, t-test and chi-square, and linear regression analysis with dichotomously coded variables. The findings indicated that the ATLAS groups did not show a preference for online tools, except for ebook. In addition, the use of most tools predicts achievement. The ebook is the only tool that is not significantly related to all the other tools. Achievement was not significantly different among treatment and comparison groups, but retention was. Retention for the treatment group surpassed retention for the comparison group by 15%. Results also pointed out that the ATLAS groups moderate the relationship between some of the online tools predicting achievement.

Health care systems consist of various individuals and organizations that aim to meet the health care needs of people and provide a complete and responsive health care solution. One of the important aspects of a health care delivery system is nursing. The use of technology is a vital aspect for delivering an optimum and complete nursing care to individuals; and also for improving the quality and delivery mechanism of nursing care. The model proposed in this thesis for Nursing Knowledge Management System is a novel knowledge-based decision support system for nurses to capture and manage nursing practice, and further, to monitor nursing care quality, as well as to test aspects of an electronic health record for recording and reporting nursing practice. As a part of a collaborative research of the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Department of Computer Science, a prototype toolset was developed to capture and manage nursing practice in order to improve the quality of care. This thesis focuses on implementing a web based SOA solution for Automated Classification of Nursing Care Categories, based on the knowledge gained from the prototype for nursing care practice.

This mixed methods study investigated 5th-grade teachers' reported use of computer technology and variables that have been identified by researchers as affecting teachers' use of technology, including professional development activities, physical access to computer technology, and technical and instructional support provided for teachers. Quantitative data were collected from 80 5th-grade teachers from a Florida public school district through an online survey in which teachers reported how frequently they used and had their students use computer technology for 27 different purposes. The teachers also reported the amount of emphasis those 27 different topics received during their technology-related professional development experiences, the number of hours they participated in technology-related professional development, the number of months they participating in a technology coaching/mentoring program, the access their students had to computers in the classroom and in a one-to-one co mputing environment, and the frequency that they received technical and instructional support. Information from the school district's technology plan provided a context for the study. Qualitative data were collected through interviews with seven of the survey participants. The findings indicated that for 18 different purposes of technology, there was a significant correlation between how frequently teachers used and had their students use technology and the teacher-reported emphasis those topics received during technology related professional development. Self-reported frequency of support, student-to-computer ratio in the classroom, hours of professional development, and months of mentoring did not moderate the relationship between frequency of technology use and the content of professional development.

The purpose of this study was to examine the Computer-Assisted Instructional (CAI) method as an alternative to the Traditional method of instruction for the lowest level of remediation in the content areas of mathematics, reading, and sentence skills, and to specifically determine the comparative effectiveness of these two delivery modes in terms of student success, retention, and costs. The researcher aimed to (a) determine the extent to which ACCUPLACERª mean scores for CAI participants increase based on pre and post measures, (b) investigate the pros and cons fiscally of each method of delivery (CAI vs. Traditional), respectively, (c) examine whether CAI participants are more likely to enroll during the immediately following semester compared to students enrolled in a Traditional course, and (d) investigate the extent to which CAI participants are equally or more likely to complete successfully the course taken during the immediately following semester compared to students enroll ed in a Traditional course. The study consisted of a two-group design (CAI and Traditional), and four dependent variables. All CAI participants (N = 129) were self-selected to participate in the study. A dependent t-test found that CAI participants increased their ACCUPLACER mean scores significantly over time by 22.74 points or 72.6%. A frequency count found that retention rates were slightly higher for the Traditional group (82.3%) in comparison to the CAI group (76.6%), however, chi-square tests did not reveal a statistical significance. Chi-squares found significant increase in success rates for the CAI group as 86% passed their initial course, in comparison to 59.8% of students taught in the Traditional format. CAI participants were found to have greater success (74.1%) in subsequent classes than students taught via the Traditional instructional method (51.9%).