Discusses diversity in the workplace and offers guidelines for practitioners in designing, developing, and implementing diversity training. Highlights include linking the diversity initiative to the organization's mission, cultural climate assessments, reviewing policies and procedures, needs assessment, learner analysis, establishing objectives,…

Discusses the use of digital video projects for online courses in higher education and presents a list of 10 recommendations for helping faculty with the digital video project development process. Highlights include timelines; funding; planning; knowing the audience; hardware and software choices; evaluation; research; and publicizing the…

Examines the role of students in the formative evaluation of instructional materials and reviews research on criteria for selecting students for the evaluation process. Studies that investigated the following criteria are described: (1) level of verbalization; (2) aptitude; and (3) cognitive styles field-dependent and field-independent. (18…

Describes the design of "Pharyngitis in Louisiana," a computer-based epidemiologic case study that was created to teach students how to conduct disease outbreak investigations. Topics discussed include realistic content portrayals; graphics; interactive teaching methods; interaction between the instructional designer and the medical…

Explains goal-based scenario (GBS) learning environments. Topics discussed include defining educational requirements; characteristics of a GBS, including hardware and software; an example of a GBS currently in operation to teach client consulting skills, including user reactions; assessing learning; the use of simulation; and the roles of the…

Describes issues and concerns facing students who are deciding on a master's or doctoral program in instructional technology. Factors that students should consider when selecting a graduate program are identified, including admission requirements, course offerings, internships, and funding; and resources that offer information regarding…

Describes tracking tools used by designers and users to evaluate the efficacy of hypermedia systems. Highlights include human-computer interaction research; tracking tools and user-centered design; and three examples from the Interactive Multimedia Group at Cornell University that illustrate uses of various tracking tools. (27 references) (LRW)

Defines digital storytelling, the application of multimedia techniques to the telling of stories. Describes how digital-storytelling assignments, designed to use an online conferencing facility, were developed for a college class. Provides examples of students' approaches to the personal narrative assignment. Discusses how to evaluate the…

Describes field test findings of a project funded by the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium and the Rockefeller Family Fund to demonstrate that microcomputers and home videodisc players can deliver instruction to students. Basic research questions and field testing procedures for a high school economics course are provided. (MBR)

Discusses federal educational policies for educational reform and improvement based on standards, student assessment, and accountability. Topics include the No Child Left Behind initiative; standardized tests; the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; the role of learning technologies; distributed learning; infrastructures for learning…

Presents a framework for judging educational technology programs that was developed for the Department of Education by the Expert Panel on Educational Technology. Highlights include clearly articulated goals; developing learning and thinking skills; equity for educational excellence; promoting organizational change; measurable evidence of…

Outlines technological and cognitive considerations in the selection of authoring systems for writing computer-assisted instruction (CAI) lessons. Topics discussed include hardware selection; documentation; text display; screen appearance; branching and sequencing; text editing; graphics; animation; sound and voice input and output; student…

Describes a survey that was conducted to identify the range of software programs in use in a sample of higher education institutions, examine usage patterns, and identify those programs reported as most useful to students, including foreign students. Gender differences and perceptions of Macintosh versus IBM hardware are also considered. (LRW)

The individually prescribed instruction (IPI) system in use at Draper Correctional Center was studied. The IPI system for basic education involves five operations: (1) establishing the learning objectives--basic literacy, educational skills prerequisite for occupational training, preparation for the GED high school equivalency examination, etc.,…

Reviews seven commercially produced test generator programs appropriate for use by classroom teachers or individual instructors and identifies item construction and test formatting features that facilitate test design and delivery. Test generator programs and their manufacturers are listed. (MBR)