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Designed to introduce social studies teachers to computers and to suggest ideas for their potential applications in social studies classrooms, this booklet is arranged in various sections. One section describes the origins of the modern computer, another defines computer terminology, and two sections explain computer hardware and computer software. Another section discusses three major ways in which computers are being used in schools. The first is computer assisted educational management systems which are designed to provide the evaluation of entering students, prescription formulating, individualization of instruction, record keeping, curriculum development, and evaluation. Second, computer assisted instruction (CAI) is being widely used. Drill and practice, tutorial help, simulations, inquiry modes (these allow students to ask questions within the context of the lesson), problem solving, and computerized games are common varieties of CAI. And third, computers are being used in what is called computer assisted learning. Students use the computer as an aid in solving problems, reviewing, and evaluating their progress. The booklet discusses training teachers to use a computer. Instructional software for teachers is cited. A sample lesson, "Election Projections," for using computers in the social studies classroom is provided. The booklet ends with a discussion of what the future holds. The results of a national survey to assess the use of computers in public elementary and secondary schools are also provided. A bibliography is included. (Author/RM)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert