In this research, we introduce a web-based open source solution that enables the transfer of the widely established Peer Instruction approach to lectures with in excess of 350 participants. The proposed solution avoids several existing technical flaws that currently hinder the further adoption of Peer Instruction. We test our solution in a series of lectures with over 500 participants. Within t...

The maxim of the superscalar architecture is that higher performance can be achieved by executing multiple instructions simultaneously. This can be realized in hardware by using a centralized instruction window. We present the design and implementation of a centralized instruction window capable of out-of-order issue and completion of four instructions per cycle. A compact layout (6.4mm by 2.2m...

Rooted in behavioral theory, particularly the radical or selectivist behaviorism of B.F. Skinner (1953, 1954, 1966, 1968, 1974), the direct instruction (DI) approach to teaching is now well into its third decade of influencing curriculum, instruction, and research. It is also in its third decade of controversy. Our purpose is to present the DI model with the notion that the designer can and sho...

The recently published Survey of the State of the Art in Human Language Technology does not spend a single word on computer-aided language learning (CALL). Indeed, present-day CALL systems hardly employ Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques. Reasons for this state of affairs are not hard to find. First of all, current language teaching methods tend to emphasize oral language skills, espe...

Previous research has examined factors influencing teacher decisions to integrate technology using between-teacher designs. This study used a within-teacher design to compare students who were assigned multi-media learning objects for learning fractions with students taught by the same teachers who were not assigned to the technology. There were two conditions: (1) teachers were asked to limit ...

In this paper, we describe our efforts in providing a holistic environment for our trainee teachers at the National Institute of Education (Singapore) to ‘learn by experiencing and doing’ about using technology in classroom instruction. In our deliberate attempt to move away from lecturing and teaching of discrete IT skills, we modeled various strategies that are built upon established learning...

This paper describes the design and implementation of a very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor. The VIPER (VLIW integer processor) contains four pipelined functional units, and can achieve 0.25 cycle-per-instruction performance. The processor is capable of performing multiway branch operations, two load/store operations or up to four ALU operations in each clock cycle, with full regis...

This short paper is a case study describing the introduction of a computer-mediated dialogue process in support of classroom instruction in two graduate courses in the Management Department at the University of Canterbury. The R9 dialogue process was introduced using the WebCT platform. Course quality, both as perceived by the instructor and as indicated by student course and teaching evaluatio...