Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI)

Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI)

• CAI is a self-learning technique that involves the interaction of students with programmed materials, which can be offline or online.
• CAI is the use of specific software programs on computers in the classroom to accommodate differences in student ability or speed.
• CAI frequently targets a specific subject area that is tested before and after the software is introduced.

Terminologies of Computer-Assisted Instruction

• Computer-based education (CBE) and computer-based instruction (CBI) are the broadest terms, referring to any kind of computer use in educational settings.
• Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is a narrower term, referring to drill and-practice, tutorial, or simulation activities offered either by themselves or as supplements to traditional, teacher-directed instruction.
• Computer-managed instruction (CMI) can refer to the use of computers by school staff to organize student data and make instructional decisions or to activities in which the computer evaluates students' test performance and guides them to appropriate instructional resources.
• Computer-enriched instruction (CEI) involves learning activities in which computers generate data at the students' request to illustrate relationships in models of social or physical reality, execute programs developed by the students, or provide general enrichment in relatively unstructured exercises designed to stimulate and motivate students.

Types of Computer-Assisted Instruction

• Informational Instruction: helps the learner get the desired information, and the computer can serve the role of an enquiry officer to respond to the student's enquiry with answers it had stored.
• Drill and Practice: provides opportunities for students to repeatedly practice the skills that have previously been presented and that further practice is necessary for mastery.
• Tutorial: includes both the presentation of information and its extension into different forms of work, including drill and practice, games, and simulation.
• Games: provides intellectual challenge, stimulation of curiosity, and serves as a source of motivation to the individual learner.
• Simulation: provides an approximation of reality that does not require the expenses of real life or its risks, and is used for providing training to the students.
• Discovery: provides a large database of information specific to a course or content area and challenges the learner to analyze, compare, infer, and evaluate based on their explorations of the data.
• Problem Solving: focuses on the process of finding answers to problems rather than the answers themselves, and helps children develop specific problem-solving skills and strategies.

Advantages of Computer-Assisted Instruction

• One-to-one interaction
• Great motivator
• Freedom to experiment with different options
• Instantaneous response/immediate feedback to the answers elicited
• Self-pacing allows students to proceed at their own pace
• Privacy helps the shy and slow learner to learn
• Learn more and more rapidly
• Multimedia helps to understand difficult concepts through a multi-sensory approach
• Self-directed learning allows students to decide when, where, and what to learn

Limitations of Computer-Assisted Instruction

• May feel overwhelmed by the information and resources available
• Overuse of multimedia may divert attention from the content
• Learning becomes too mechanical
• Non-availability of good CAI packages
• Lack of infrastructure