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| Format: | Recurso educativo Open Access |
|---|---|
| Language: | en |
| Published: |
1986
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED304083 |
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Table of Contents:
- Public Domain Software for Education. Artificial Intelligence Courseware Curriculum Development Database Management Systems Educational Improvement Electronic Mail Evaluation Criteria Higher Education Information Dissemination Information Networks Library Collection Development Microcomputers Needs Assessment User Needs (Information) This report describes a project undertaken by Scholastech, a public charity addressing the development needs of computing educators, which was designed to advocate and support the increased use of free software in the college curriculum. The first of five sections provides a brief overview and statement of project objectives, i.e., to serve college instructors, small college administrators, and educational researchers searching for cost-effective, educationally-tested software for the curriculum. The second section focuses on the purpose of the project, which was to define the corpus of software in the public domain, determine the role of this free software in the curriculum, identify reliable sources of free educational software, and consider the problem retrospectively. The background and origins of the project are discussed in the third section, and the fourth presents descriptions of the major project activities, including the development of a collection of free software (MS-DOS, UNIX, Macintosh), the formalization of software evaluation criteria, the creation of a database for the management of software evaluations, the development of a delivery system in the form of the mass distribution FIPSE (Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education) disk, and the distribution of the FIPSE R&D Disk. The final section reports the results of the study, which suggest that schools can afford to provide commercial hardware and software, or pursue major development projects, but not both. Suggested evaluation criteria, a sample "Quick Reference Listing," and sample resource screens for IBM/ATT PC-compatibles are appended. (CGD)