In 1959, at the University of Illinois, Donald Bitier began PLATO, the first, large-scale project for the use of computers in education. The several thousand-terminal system served undergraduate education as well as elementary school reading, a community college in Urbana, and several campuses in Chicago.[7] Thus, the era of computers in education is little more than 35 years old.[8]
The Early Pioneers
At Dartmouth, in 1963, John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz transformed the role of computers in education from primarily a research activity to an academic one. They did not like the idea that students had to stand in long lines with punch cards for batch processing. So they adopted the recently demonstrated concept of time-sharing that allowed many students to
interact directly with the computer. The university developed the time-shared system and expanded it into a regional computing center for colleges and schools.[9] At the time, most programs were written in machine language or FORTRAN. Kemeny and Kurtz developed a new, easy-to-use language, called BASIC. It spread rapidly and was used for the creation of computer-based instructional materials for a wide variety of subjects and for all levels of education.
RAPID GROWTH OF COMPUTER-BASED EDUCATION
In the late 1960s, in order to make access to computers widely available, the National Science Foundation (NSF) supported the development of 30 regional computing networks, which included 300 institutions of higher education and some secondary schools. By 1974, over two million students used computers in their classes. In 1963, only 1% of the nationis secondary schools used computers for instructional purposes. By 1975, 55% of the schools had access and 23% were using computers primarily for instruction.[13]
1975 a remarkable thing happened, the economics that once favored large, time-shared systems shifted to low-cost microcomputers and the personal computer revolution began.
By the late seventies personal computers were everywhere — at the office, the schoolroom, the home, and in laboratories and libraries. The computer was no longer a luxury, but was now a necessity for many schools and universities. Many universities required incoming freshmen to own a computer. What began as a grassroots revolution driven by students, teachers and parents, was now a new educational imperative as important as having books and libraries.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COMPUTER-BASED EDUCATION
James Kulik at the University of Michigan performed a meta-analysis on several hundred well-controlled studies in a wide variety of fields at the elementary, secondary, higher- and adult-education level. He found that computer-based education could increase scores from 10 to 20 percentile points and reduce time necessary to achieve goals by one-third. He found that computers improved class performance by about one-half a standard deviation, less than the one sigma difference that could be accomplished by peer tutoring.[14] However, this analysis did not include newer studies utilizing advanced technologies and newer educational paradigms. But, this study did answer the question: do computer-based technologies work? They most certainly do.
Intelligent Tutors
In the 1970s, researchers were looking for new educational paradigms to take advantage of breakthroughs in computer technology. It appeared that the combination of artificial intelligence, cognitive science and advanced technologies could dramatically improve learning and problem solving. Intelligent CAI (ICAI) was one such paradigm.
DISTANT EDUCATION
Many universities are pursuing virtual degree programs, offering classes via the Internet. They utilize its two-way digital video features to allow students with personal computers and teachers to interact, one-on-one, or in classes that may be many miles apart.
Universities such as the University of Maryland and Duke University are offering Masters degree programs entirely through the Internet. Education is now a flexitime, flexiplace activity.
Workers in many industries require a new and different type of training. Education and training, as conventionally practiced, fail to provide many individuals with the level of understanding and skills to be productive contributors in a world of fast-changing technology, says Barbara Means of SRI International. She is experimenting with the concept of distant mentoring as an alternative instructional tool that can bridge the gap between concepts stressed in formal education and the competencies required by the workplace. She has developed mentoring and advisory systems for use in high-technology industries. [22]
There is now a government-wide effort to dramatically expand the U.S. portion of the Internet. The aim is to interconnect the nationis educational infrastructure to its knowledge and information centers. Elementary and high schools, colleges and universities will be linked to research centers and laboratories so that all may share access to digital libraries, databases and diverse scientific instruments.
The history of the modern computer age is a brief one. It has been about 50 years since the first operational computer was put into use: the MARK 1 in 1944 at Harvard and ENIAC in 1946 at the University of Pennsylvania. Early use of computers in education was primarily found in mathematics, science and engineering as a mathematical problem-solving tool, replacing the slide rule and thus permitting students to deal more directly with problems of a type and size most likely to be encountered in the real world.[6]
In 1959, at the University of Illinois, Donald Bitier began PLATO, the first, large-scale project for the use of computers in education. The several thousand-terminal system served undergraduate education as well as elementary school reading, a community college in Urbana, and several campuses in Chicago.[7] Thus, the era of computers in education is little more than 35 years old.[8]
The Early Pioneers
At Dartmouth, in 1963, John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz transformed the role of computers in education from primarily a research activity to an academic one. They did not like the idea that students had to stand in long lines with punch cards for batch processing. So they adopted the recently demonstrated concept of time-sharing that allowed many students to
interact directly with the computer. The university developed the time-shared system and expanded it into a regional computing center for colleges and schools.[9] At the time, most programs were written in machine language or FORTRAN. Kemeny and Kurtz developed a new, easy-to-use language, called BASIC. It spread rapidly and was used for the creation of computer-based instructional materials for a wide variety of subjects and for all levels of education.
RAPID GROWTH OF COMPUTER-BASED EDUCATION
In the late 1960s, in order to make access to computers widely available, the National Science Foundation (NSF) supported the development of 30 regional computing networks, which included 300 institutions of higher education and some secondary schools. By 1974, over two million students used computers in their classes. In 1963, only 1% of the nationis secondary schools used computers for instructional purposes. By 1975, 55% of the schools had access and 23% were using computers primarily for instruction.[13]
1975 a remarkable thing happened, the economics that once favored large, time-shared systems shifted to low-cost microcomputers and the personal computer revolution began.
By the late seventies personal computers were everywhere — at the office, the schoolroom, the home, and in laboratories and libraries. The computer was no longer a luxury, but was now a necessity for many schools and universities. Many universities required incoming freshmen to own a computer. What began as a grassroots revolution driven by students, teachers and parents, was now a new educational imperative as important as having books and libraries.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COMPUTER-BASED EDUCATION
James Kulik at the University of Michigan performed a meta-analysis on several hundred well-controlled studies in a wide variety of fields at the elementary, secondary, higher- and adult-education level. He found that computer-based education could increase scores from 10 to 20 percentile points and reduce time necessary to achieve goals by one-third. He found that computers improved class performance by about one-half a standard deviation, less than the one sigma difference that could be accomplished by peer tutoring.[14] However, this analysis did not include newer studies utilizing advanced technologies and newer educational paradigms. But, this study did answer the question: do computer-based technologies work? They most certainly do.
Intelligent Tutors
In the 1970s, researchers were looking for new educational paradigms to take advantage of breakthroughs in computer technology. It appeared that the combination of artificial intelligence, cognitive science and advanced technologies could dramatically improve learning and problem solving. Intelligent CAI (ICAI) was one such paradigm.
DISTANT EDUCATION
Many universities are pursuing virtual degree programs, offering classes via the Internet. They utilize its two-way digital video features to allow students with personal computers and teachers to interact, one-on-one, or in classes that may be many miles apart.
Universities such as the University of Maryland and Duke University are offering Masters degree programs entirely through the Internet. Education is now a flexitime, flexiplace activity.
Workers in many industries require a new and different type of training. Education and training, as conventionally practiced, fail to provide many individuals with the level of understanding and skills to be productive contributors in a world of fast-changing technology, says Barbara Means of SRI International. She is experimenting with the concept of distant mentoring as an alternative instructional tool that can bridge the gap between concepts stressed in formal education and the competencies required by the workplace. She has developed mentoring and advisory systems for use in high-technology industries. [22]
There is now a government-wide effort to dramatically expand the U.S. portion of the Internet. The aim is to interconnect the nationis educational infrastructure to its knowledge and information centers. Elementary and high schools, colleges and universities will be linked to research centers and laboratories so that all may share access to digital libraries, databases and diverse scientific instruments.
