COURSE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS

SIMPLIFYING AND IMPROVING EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE CREATION IS THE GOAL OF A THREE-PHASE PROJECT THAT HAS AS ITS OUTCOME A FIVE- TO TEN-HOUR COMPUTER-BASED COURSE THAT WILL TEACH SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS TO DESIGN AND DEVELOP INSTRUCTIONALLY SOUND COURSEWARE. PLANNING SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL, INC. (PSI) PROPOSES THIS COURSE AS A FRONT-END TEACHING TOOL TO THE AUTHORING LANGUAGE THAT THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS INTENDS TO FUND THROUGH RFP 83-073. THE COURSE'S INTENT IS TO INCREASE THE PROBABILITY OF TEACHERS USING THAT LANGUAGE TO DEVELOP POWERFUL COURSEWARE. PHASE 1 OF THE PROJECT IS TO DETERMINE THE COURSE'S FEASIBILITY BY DEVELOPING AND FIELD TESTING A ONE-HOUR LESSON WITH A PRE- AND POST-TEST DESIGNED TO GATHER DATA ON TEACHERS' ATTITUDES ABOUT COMPUTER-ASSISTED INSTRUCTION (CAI) AND THEIR ABILITIES TO DEVELOP CAI. IF THIS COMPONENT SUCCESSFULLY CHANGES ATTITUDES AND TEACHES CAI DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES, PSI PROPOSES TO FINALIZE THIS ONE-HOUR LESSON AND DEVELOP AN ADDITIONAL FIVE- TO TEN-HOURS OF INSTRUCTION. THE ENTIRE COURSE WILL EXPLAIN CAI TERMINOLOGY; INTRODUCE TEACHERS TO MICROS; DISCUSS BASIC INSTRUCTIONAL FORMATS; DEMONSTRATE HOWTO WRITE OBJECTIVES THAT CAN BE TESTED IN CAI; DISCUSS SCREEN LAYOUT; AND DEMONSTRATE THE POSSIBLE CAI FORMATS THE AUTHORING LANGUAGE WILL ALLOW.