This booklet is an instruction manual for those using the FOCUS database, an information source on dropout prevention of the National Dropout Prevention Center. An introduction lists the FOCUS files, which include Program Profiles, Calendar of Events, Resource Materials Library, Organizations, and Consultants and Speakers. Also given is the…

Describes the formation of the supercomputer system which reaches from Seattle to South Florida. Explains the major obstacles of international protocols, billing, priority routing, and security. (RT)

Outlines the pros and cons of the National Information Utility Program, which is designed to provide current updatable courseware to schools nationwide. The information is broadcast over FM radio and television signals to facilities subscribing to the utility. (MD)

Step-by-step instructions for locating material in the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database are provided. Following an introduction, information is presented in three main sections--manual searching, computer searching, and using search results. Subdivisions under manual searching describe who can or should do a manual search…

Developed by the Sperry Corporation, MAPPER is an interactive report processing system that uses simple English-language commands. The system is used by departments at the State University of New York at Albany to access institutional data. (MLF)

This curriculum guide provides the basic curriculum components required to develop lesson plans that address the learning outcomes for the area of integrated computing. It is not a complete, self-contained curriculum. Instead, the guide provides the teacher with a number of informational items related to the learning outcomes and allows him/her…

The database management system or computerized database is an important tool for teaching thinking in the social studies. But what the teacher does to teach the student about databases, to use prepared databases, to organize their data, to direct their research, and to draw conclusions using this teaching device is just as important. The Direct…

The paper reviews current rehabilitation databases and discusses ways in which they may be used to enhance the rehabilitation process. Their use decreases by 80% or more the time usually needed to manually develop rehabilitation-related data. A table presents questions that can be asked in selecting a prospective database, including whether the…

The Anchorage, Alaska, School District is dealing with the problem of teaching students about the "information age" through a unique program in their central library system. It was one of the first school districts in the nation to computerize its library and to provide access to computer databases to the students through telephones as…

The goal of this paper is to examine some erroneous ideas about teaching thinking skills and the use of computer tools, especially databases. The paper reviews: (1) the importance of databases to the teaching of social studies; (2) the teacher's role in aiding students to develop and use databases; (3) the reintroduction of effective teaching…

Describes the use of a decision support system to operate on a database for academic scheduling. Discusses the scheduling environment, database subsystem, dialog subsystem, modeling subsystem, and output formats. (JM)

The use of the Prolog programing language is promoted as the language to use by anyone teaching a course in relational databases. A short introduction to Prolog is followed by a series of examples of queries. Several references are noted for anyone wishing to gain a deeper understanding. (MP)

This course curriculum is intended for community college instructors and administrators to use in implementing an intermediate information processing course. A student's course syllabus provides this information: credit hours, catalog description, prerequisites, required texts, instructional process, objectives, student evaluation, and class…

The first of three parts of this booklet, which assumes no previous knowledge of computers or programming, explains what computers are and briefly describes the components of a computer system. The second section examines the different ways in which the computer can be used in higher education, including its use: (1) as a "super calculator"; (2)…

Gives advice on the evaluation, purchase, and setup of a computerized student database for consolidation of scheduling, attendance, grades, and other recordkeeping tasks. Recommends questions to be asked and outlines a workable system configuration. (JM)