1986/07/01 by Sara J. Czaja, Katka Hammond, James J. Blascovich +1 · 2 citations
Computer Science · Social Sciences · #Usability and User Interface Design #Digital Accessibility for Disabilities #Software Engineering Techniques and Practices #Word processing #Computer science #Word (group theory) #Training (meteorology) #Multimedia #Natural language processing #Artificial intelligence #Human–computer interaction
paper · doi:10.1080/01449298608914514
openalex publication_date 1986/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Three training strategies were evaluated for their effectiveness in teaching naive computer users to use a word-processing system. One hundred and thirty five women ranging in age from 25 years to 70 years participated in the study. Subjects were trained using one of three techniques (instructor, manual, computer( to perform basic word-processing tasks. The effectiveness of the training strategies was assessed by examining performance on basic word-processing tasks such as typing a letter or memo and editing an existing file. Results showed that for all subjects, computer-based training was a less effective teaching method than either instructor- or manual-based training. In general, subjects who were trained using the computer-based method attempted and completed fewer tasks, took longer to perform tasks, and also made more errors. These findings demonstrate the need for directing efforts towards the development of appropriate training methods for computer tasks