The role of computers in instructional systems: Past and future

The role that might be assigned to computers in instructional systems may take many forms. However, after reviewing the literature on the uses of computers in education, the authors could find no clear statement as to what such a role is or should be, when considered within the total context of an instructional system. The failure to find a well-defined role provided the impetus for a paper of this type. The paper is designed to suggest new ways of conceptualizing instructional systems which include a computer component. The authors address themselves to this task by first reviewing briefly the past use of computers in educational settings; second, applying a general systems approach to education; third, developing a model for CAI (computer-assisted-instruction) within the general systems framework and fourth, exploring the implications of the model for research and development of CAI systems.