A View of the Research on the Efficacy of CAI

Recent increases in computing power of affordable personal computers have resulted in an increase in the development and use of various forms of computer-delivered instruction. Understanding the effects of this instruction on learning is important to any future implementations of computers for instruction. This review of the literature on the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is an attempt to show that CAI can be an effective mode of instruction in the education environment. It is also intended to address three major issues within the body of research on the efficacy of CAI: (a) an aging body of literature; (b) the greater effectiveness of using CAI as a supplement to conventional instruction; and (c) the alleged superiority of CAI over conventional instruction. The authors conclude that, due to potential shortcomings in some past research comparing CAI to conventional instruction, CAI should be considered to be at least as effective as conventional instruction. Next, they conclude that new studies are needed to clarify the effects of CAI in contemporary student/computer environments