This study asked participants to rate models of computer-generated text on the perceived ease with which it could be read and studied. These ratings were submitted to a Q-mode factor analysis to identify the underlying criteria used when the reader/perceiver formed a judgment related to the "study-ability" of the text model. Subjects…

Pointing out that interactive video (IAV) represents a synthesis of four primary technologies--computers, television, visual design, and instructional design--this paper discusses the what, why, and how of IAV visuals. The features and relevant aspects of each technology are briefly discussed, as well as the impact of each of these technologies…

Computer based instruction (CBI) is composed of individual frames viewed one at a time. Compared to a typical textbook, CBI restricts the adult learner's capacity to access information from different parts of the lesson and to view complex presentations. Designers of CBI must compensate for these limitations by making a concerted effort to…

The graphical user interface (GUI) has become something of a standard for instructional programs in recent years. One type of GUI is the metaphorical type. For example, the Macintosh GUI is based on the "desktop" metaphor where objects one manipulates within the GUI are implied to be objects one might find in a real office's desktop.…

Discussion of online catalogs focuses on issues in interface design. Issues addressed include understanding the user base; common user access (CUA) with personal computers; common command language (CCL); hyperlinks; screen design issues; differences from card catalogs; indexes; graphic user interfaces (GUIs); color; online help; and remote users.…

In an increasingly technological society, there is a social need for designing communication technology around the perceptual abilities and cognitive strategies of people. A growing demand for information has created additional pressure on emerging communication technologies to provide electronic alternatives to the printed page. Design depends…

Instructional design considerations involved in using level four videodisc systems when designing simulations are explored. Discussion of the hardware and software system characteristics notes that computer based training offers the features of text, graphics, color, animation, and highlighting techniques, while a videodisc player offers all of…

Intermedia, a hypermedia system developed at Brown University's Institute for Research (Rhode Island) in Information and Scholarship, is first described, and then used as a case study to explore a number of key issues that software designers must consider in the development of hypermedia document systems. A hypermedia document system is defined as…

An Open University project was planned to develop a set of computer assisted learning (CAL) microcomputer programs for a second level, summer school physics course, scheduled to begin in 1982. Major project aims were the development of an underlying system to effectively use medium resolution graphics with a simple animation capability;…

This report describes the development of a Drexel University electrical and computer engineering course on digital filter design that used interactive computing and graphics, and was one of three courses in a senior-level sequence on digital signal processing (DSP). Interactive and digital analysis/design routines and the interconnection of these…

As more information resources become accessible using computers, the digital interfaces to those resources need to be appropriate for all people. However, when it comes to digital libraries, the interfaces have typically been designed for older children or adults. The researchers have begun to develop a digital library interface that is…

This paper describes basic types of World Wide Web pages and presents design criteria for page layout based on principles of visual literacy. Discussion focuses on pages that present information in the following styles: billboard; directory/index; textual; and graphics. Problems and solutions in Web page construction are explored according to…

This four-section paper begins with a brief description of videotex and the paths its development has followed during its short lifespan. The second section examines how videotex systems should present and display information, and how such information should be internally organized so that it is maximally useful for the reader/user. The analysis,…

In most existing computer assisted instruction (CAI), the nature of the instruction would not actually require a computer. Text is presented and read, questions are asked, and then materials are presented or reviewed depending on students' answers. There are two problems with this approach: computer capabilities for interactive task simulation are…

Computer assisted instruction, software design, and course organization are among the topics discussed in this varied, 15-paper collection which includes descriptions of specific projects, general essays and practical suggestions for improving or implementing computer-oriented instruction. The following papers are presented: (1) "Organization…