A study investigated the relationship of 35 high school students' online catalog search performance and their academic achievement and verbal, quantitative, and analytical abilities as measured by standardized tests. Results indicate a moderate correlation between search performance and academic performance and cognitive abilities and a stronger…

The Jefferson Notebook system, based on a model of integrated research and instruction, is a computer program to aid in creation of hypertext instructional materials. It is currently used in college writing and academic courses. Its authoring features allow teachers to build instructional resources and integrate research and writing. (MSE)

Development of two interactive videodisks in space science for middle-school-age children is described, and suggestions for development of affordable and successful interactive products are offered. The first interactive program is a touchscreen exhibit designed for museum use, and the second is a classroom tool for teaching a planetary sciences…

The shift from limited-capacity personal computers to powerful workstation technology offers an environment for writing instruction that allows networking, simultaneous performance of many tasks, and tools for designing custom lessons and individual applications. At Allegheny College (Pennsylvania), a first-year writing course is supported…

Syllabus Builder is a hypertext resource that brings together scholarly, critical, and pedagogical information for literature teachers to use in curriculum development and classroom instruction. Application of the program to enhance a specific American literature anthology is described, illustrated with computer screens. (MSE)

Quality evaluation refers to computer operations for categorizing the relative quality of creative work. It can be used in college instruction to involve students and instructors in contrastive perception and distributed judgment of student work, assigning a quantitative measure to group conclusions about the relative quality of a member's work.…

Discussion of the use of virtual reality in higher education looks at how this emerging computer-based technology can promote learning that engages all seven forms of intelligence proposed in H. Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. Technical and conceptual issues in implementation of virtual reality in education are also examined.…

A theoretical description of hypertext is presented, and three applications of hypertext are discussed: electronic studying allows linkage of electronic note cards for writing and interrelating concepts; literary exploration allows construction and interpretation of stories with provided literary elements; in qualitative research, hypertext helps…

The evolution and design of a videodisk recording for classroom use in teaching aesthetics at the college level are described. The program presents an internationally notorious case study in art forgery. It facilitates three crucial tasks in visual art study: access to art and related information; detail; and analysis. (MSE)

An experiment applied the theories of knowledge engineering and expert systems to science instruction for junior high school students. The model encourages a more creative, constructivist approach to teaching certain science concepts and skills while fostering improvement of logical thinking, communication, and independent learning skills. Results…

A framework for examining the effectiveness of different types of educational computing environments addresses the conceptual characteristics of the knowledge domain being learned and the learner's stage of knowledge. Characteristics of certain technology-based learning environments (computer-based drill, intelligent tutoring systems, hypertext)…

A study evaluated the effectiveness of an interactive videodisk program in guiding law students through development of a civil rights court case. Results were mixed, with positive student perceptions but little improvement in performance. It is concluded that more needs to be known about this kind of orienting instruction. (MSE)

A set of guidelines for evaluating interactive multimedia used in college instruction is offered in the form of 10 "commandments" illustrated with humorous anecdotes. They stress descriptive approaches to research and evaluation, including modeling methods that integrate quantitative and qualitative data. (Author/MSE)

A discussion of authoring system technology is based on a review of 80 products. Alternative authoring approaches are described; assumptions underlying development of authoring systems and their use are examined; selection procedures and criteria sensitive to varied needs are suggested; and trends in software development, evaluation, marketing,…

Access to online public access library catalogs and similar information networks by scholars in the humanities is discussed. Tools and approaches available for scholars to navigate the systems, their utility and contribution to "location independence" in information seeking, and the evolving relationship between libraries and their…