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Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the
effectiveness and retention of microcomputer assisted
instruction on Digital Modulation and Demodulation laboratory
instruction. The pretest-posttest control-group design was used
to test the effectiveness of microcomputer assisted instruction
in comparison to that of the traditional module circuit learning
approach. Sixteen freshmen studying at the Department of
Industrial Education were selected as research objects. They
were randomly assigned to experimental group or control group.
Experimental group studied digital communication system with F.
A.C.E.T. system(Faults Assisted Circuit for Eletronic Training),
but the control group studied the same uints with traditional
module circuits. The achievement of knowledge and skill in both
two groups were evaluated through the posttest. Several major
conclusions were drawn by statistical analysis and summarized as
the followings:1. There is a significant difference between
experiment group and control group in their theory
achievement.2. There is a significant difference between
experiment group and control group in their skill test, but not
in their operation speed.3. There is a significant between
experiment group and control group in seven items of
satisfaction indexes, but no significant difference in other
three items.4. There is a significant difference between
experiment group and control group in their retention rate of
skill proficency.5. The retention rate of skill in both
experiment group and control group were declined similarly.
Although the overall effect of microcomputer assisted laboratory
instruction for digital communication technology was better than
that of module circuit training approach, but it largely
depended upon the availability of courseware and hardware
capabilities.Keywords: Computer Assisted Instruction,
effectiveness, retention, technical competencies.
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