Introduces three articles that identify various types of database management programs, discuss their basic features and some typical applications and present a table of the leading programs available; profile several companies that are utilizing database management systems; and illustrate several unusual home applications for hobbyists. (MBR)

Describes Ovation, an integrated software system with a common command environment of 26 English words which provides access to all of the system's capabilities and handles spreadsheet analysis, information management, word processing, graphics, and communications in the same workspace. Capabilities of Ovation's applications and features…

The paper focuses on low cost and no cost methods to allow access and use (via specialized interface and display aids) by the disabled of standard unmodified computers and of microcomputer software systems becoming increasingly common in daily life. First, relevant characteristics of persons with movement, sensory, hearing, or cognitive…

Discusses the relationship between the problems involved in the creation of expert systems by knowledge engineers, i.e., experts at translating human abilities and knowledge into computer programs, and the major issues dealt with in the planning/analysis phases of instructional development. (MBR)

Consumers and producers of educational software must make decisions about what kind of software to buy and create. Both groups must base these decisions on criteria that consider what it is important to learn in our technological era, what is workable, and what is currently practical and cost-effective. Five criteria that are central to these…

Addresses research results and controversies concerning the ergonomic design of computer work stations ranging from the traditional concerns with anthropometric fashions, work posture, and visual performance to the recent considerations about human information processing capacities and awareness of problem-solving strategies. (eight references)…

In response to the rapid growth of computer crime and such illegitimate practices as piracy and fraud, the National Institute of Justice and the Office for Educational Research and Improvement have formed a partnership to promote school programs on the ethical uses of new technologies. This report, the first of the partnership, is designed to…

This report summarizes a working conference held at the Educational Technology Center in the Harvard University Graduate School of Education to explore the uses of educational technology in urban schools and offer recommendations for developing policies and programs. Participants included urban practitioners, researchers, professors, policy…