Microcomputer authoring systems: valuable tools for health educators.

Writing courseware with the aid of an authoring system is a bold step that can bring together the health education content expert and the power of the microcomputer. The microcomputer can be programmed to present essential knowledge to students in a low pressure setting, specifically geared to their levels of comprehension and rates of progression. Microcomputer-based simulations and patient management problems seem suited to the task helping students develop adequate problem-solving skills in health education (Lewis, 1983; Peterson, 1984). Furthermore, many lecture hours can be replaced by an infinitely patient tutor with which students can interact at their convenience. Creating self-study materials delivered via microcomputer is also a step toward providing the most effective type of learning experiences for individual students. Despite the fact that putting authoring systems in the hands of well-informed content specialists may meet a number of pressing needs in health education, there is one drawback. Authoring systems have a built-in pedagogical structure that, to some extent, dictates the design of the lesson. However, spending time in the evaluation process prior to purchase will enable educators to identify a system that can be used to develop courseware that very closely matches the desires of the author. Integrating microcomputer courseware into health education courses is certainly an attractive solution to some of the educational problems faced in health education today. An authoring system can be used to develop courseware that can substituted for lectures on basic concepts. In addition, students will have more opportunities to develop the ability to apply, in problem-solving situations, the factual knowledge they are learning before they are responsible for making judgments in real-life situations. The time is ripe, then, for health educators to investigate how authoring systems can help them utilize the technology of the microcomputer to improve health education.