This paper discusses the role of information technology in American social studies classrooms. Three main topics are addressed including: (1) the potentially-powerful applications of technology in social studies, based on current trends in social studies education; (2) the current status of technology use in social studies education and factors…

The predominant telecommunications technologies, video and computer-based telecommunications, have multiple applications for reading education. The telecomputers of tomorrow will process, store, create and transmit images which can be distributed via fiber optics networks in a manner similar to the voice communications of today. Thus, the…

Research on notetaking as a learning strategy and on the related techniques of outlining and concept mapping is reviewed. The effectiveness of these techniques in helping the learner encode new information and their usefulness in interactive multimedia instruction are explored. Research strongly supports an external-storage function of notetaking…

This symposium paper is concerned with curriculum theory and development and the place of curriculum theory within the area of instructional technology. It first identifies the central questions of curriculum (e.g., what should we teach?) and discusses the implications of the resulting issues: (1) why should we teach this rather than that? (2) who…

Successful makers of "persuasive films"--i.e., films which attempt to incorporate the viewers' attitudes in the message in order to influence them--were surveyed for this study to determine the procedures used in the planning and production of educational films. This survey replicated a 1981 study by Simonson, but included several follow up…

Computerized spelling programs or "spelling checkers" can be a wonderful tool for writers at any level of competence. However, they should not be used as adjuncts to the teaching of writing unless they meet two boundary conditions, one of size and one of design. The problem with design of the programs is that they allow for the…

A project involving the evaluation of microcomputer courseware being marketed for school use was conducted in the Microcomputer Resource Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, during 1982 with funding from the Exxon Education Foundation. Every courseware package was evaluated by a team which included a subject matter expert, an…

Improved strategies for sharing resources are absolutely essential to the survival of small schools. Although not all, or even a major portion, of school programs should be provided by a cooperative delivery system, a discerning superintendent and board will mobilize every resource available to them in conducting their educational programs.…

The different uses to which two adult educators put their personal computers illustrate some of the many personal and professional applications of microcomputers and point to some implications for home computers in the field of adult education. Relying primarily upon prepared software packages, the first educator relies on his computer as a…

A study was made of the extent and ways different types of educational software allow young children to manipulate their own actions and, more specifically, to engage in reversible activity. Part 1 of the study consisted of an analysis of the types of reversible actions two kindergarten children engaged in and the actions they wanted to engage in…

Primary health and nutrition have been linked with communication in a variety of well-publicized projects. This partnership between communication and nutrition was made necessary by the confrontation between an expanded demand for services and limited resources for meeting the demand. Senior officials have a substantial role to play in seeing that…

This study explored the relationship between fear of automation and teachers' attitudes toward instructional media. Ten terms describing instructional devices were presented under three experimental conditions: replacement, adjunct, and neutral. Five of the devices were considered traditional while the remainder were associated with instructional…

The selection matrix is an attempt to provide an efficient, effective, and practical basis for selecting the instructional medium possessing more specific learner-situation-task attributes than others. The selection matrix provides three important capabilities by (1) identifying a number of appropriate media and isolating them, (2) reducing the…

Using the ERIC/ONTAP file, student searchers may improve their online skills by employing an 8-step search strategy technique. ERIC/ONTAP, now available through LRS/DIALOG, uses a subset of the ERIC file with built-in answer sets and a special evaluation command. The training procedure guides the student from the initial search interview to the…

This is the summary of a larger paper describing the evolution of a mediated elementary accounting course at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. The course was initially developed as a 25 slide-tape lesson course which included 950 visuals and approximately 25 hours of instruction. One hundred students per semester took the course in the following…