Do Gifted Children Use Computers Differently? A View from The Factory

Abstract
Do able students use software in unique ways and are certain types of software especially appropriate for them? This exploratory study used 12 subjects and a prize-winning software package, The Factory, to examine the possibility of special computing needs. Bright students more often used a plan in their strategy and offered suggestions for improving the software in ways which indicated monitoring of their own performance. It remains to be shown whether or not other students can learn to use software in these ways, and to transfer such performance to new, unprompted situations. In other words, do microcomputers deserve a special place in “gifted education” apart from their special place in education?