An interactive, computerized sound machine was designed, incorporating bar-code technology in the user interface. The system was used in a classroom of nine blind elementary level children to teach sound awareness, logic, metalinguistics, and technological literacy and was found to have pedagogical relevance. (Author/JDD)

Provides an overview of the American Library Association (ALA) 1991 midwinter conference. Highlights include federal legislation, the organization of library support staff, fees for library services, library collection preservation policies, electronic access, access policy guidelines for academic libraries, reference staffing for electronic…

Discusses distance learning, describes the Open University in the United Kingdom, and describes the incorporation of home computing into computer courses at the Open University. Industrial training is discussed, a course using televised classes and one using video and printed materials are described, and future possibilities are suggested. (Three…

Discussion of navigation through virtual information environments focuses on the need for robust user models that take into account individual differences. Considers Pask's information processing styles and strategies; deep (transformational) and surface (reproductive) learning; field dependence/independence; divergent/convergent thinking;…

This exploratory study of graduate students attempts to quantify some of the interactions that take place between learners and a computer-based instructional lesson teaching basic memory skills. Variables studied include age, undergraduate grade point average, sex, and standardized test scores. (Author/LRW)

Describes an interactive, cooperative-learning environment, "The Biology Sleuth." Characterizes students' interactions with this system, relates the underlying design concepts and principles, and presents a rationale for the system design. Describes a series of three formative evaluations, that were critical in the maturation of the system.…

Researchers have suggested that up to 50 % of the effort in development of information systems is devoted to user interface development (Douglas, Tremaine, Leventhal, Wills, & Manaris, 2002; Myers & Rosson, 1992). Yet little study has been performed on the inclusion of important interface and human-computer interaction topics into a current…

This report on options for developing the University of California (UC) MELVYL online library system discusses the system in relationship to the current environment, including national and network information resources, electronic publishing, campus libraries, and changing user expectations; and places the growth of the MELVYL system in the…

The experiences of novice users (freshman students at Ohio University) searching OCLC's FIRSTSEARCH set of databases were studied. The 13 subjects were asked to complete a search on the FIRSTSEARCH databases; and data were collected through observations, administration of a questionnaire, and a thinking-aloud protocol. Data were analyzed to…

Computerized systems have dramatically altered the way that information can be organized, published, searched and retrieved. This paper: (1) examines the components of subject access in online systems; (2) identifies the potential for subject access enhancements, such as enriching the contents of the database and improving user-system interaction,…

Virtual worlds technology (VWT) uses special computer hardware and software to link humans with computers in natural ways. A data model, or virtual world, is created and presented as a three-dimensional world of sights and sounds. The participant manipulates apparent objects in the world, and in so doing, alters the data model. VWT will become…

This article focuses on the effectiveness of computer-based instruction (CBI) screen designs, including their benefits and limitations, as well as human constraints in designing effective CBI. The paper begins with an overview of what comprises an effective CBI screen design, including characteristics of human factors, how information must be…

A study in eastern Ontario, Canada, evaluated a computer program, the Autoskill Component Reading Subskills Program, which was used to improve the reading comprehension of elementary school students identified as reading disabled. Subjects, 91 students from five school districts, were behind at least one grade in reading word recognition skills…

Concerns about the current educational technology movement are discussed in these four papers which were presented during a seminar of 20 representatives from 10 Council for Educational Development and Research (CEDaR) member institutions. The first by Marcella Pitts and E. Joseph Schneider provides an overview of the educational technology…

The author considers it essential that linguists develop the means to communicate their findings to those who may need them. The applications of linguistics have spread far beyond the traditional field of foreign language study to native language acquisition, social functions of speech differences, literacy, language standardization,…