Guidelines for the design of instructional materials are outlined in this paper. The principles of design are presented in five major categories: (1) general design (structural appeal and personal appeal); (2) instructional design (attention, memory, concept learning, and attitude change); (3) visual design (media considerations, pictures, graphs…

Presents guidelines for cost effective product development for training managers charged with quality control of products and training specialists who design materials. Discusses phases of educational product development--diagnosis, design, development, and evaluation. (MBR)

Presents a procedure for designing management simulation games in which a series of progressively detailed documents describing the game are prepared until a blueprint of the developed game has been created. The development sequence is described in detail and two tables listing the phases of game documentation accompany the text. (JL)

Courseware (computer based curriculum materials) development should follow the lessons learned by software engineers. The most important of 28 principles of software development presented here include a stress on human readability, the importance of early planning and analysis, the need for independent evaluation, and the need to be flexible.…

Drawing from the conclusions of research studies by linguists and psychologists, this paper describes four classes of principles for constructing readable prose for both print materials and computer screens: (1) global principles dealing with a schema-theory approach to discourse type, with topical focus, and with parallelism; (2) sentence-level…

In early computer assisted instruction (CAI), negative feedback often insulted students and/or provided no useful knowledge. In classroom settings, teachers use the following approaches in dealing with students' wrong answers: (1) ask the question again, louder and slower; (2) ask the question again, using different words; (3) back up and reteach…

This compilation of guidelines for using and producing various forms of media begins with hints for bulletin boards and other displays, including principles of layout, elements of design, and use of color. Advantages and disadvantages of using overhead transparencies are then outlined. Recommended uses of transparencies are listed, and tips for…

Outlines several factors to be considered by teachers when designing text displays for computer assisted instruction. Types of frames--introductory, pretesting, teaching/testing, practice, criterion testing, and rule-example--are defined and discussed to aid developers in organizing a computer assisted instruction lesson. (MBR)

Color monitors are in wide use in computer systems. Thus, it is important to understand how to apply color effectively in computer assisted instruction (CAI) and computer based training (CBT). Color can enhance learning, but it does not automatically do so. Indiscriminate application of color can mislead a student and thereby even interfere with…

This guide to the design and production of overhead transparencies begins with a matching test of related terminology and definitions. Introductory materials include an outline of advantages and disadvantages of using transparencies; a list of recommended uses of the overhead and transparencies; tips for overhead presentations; general…

Guidelines and tips for producing a variety of visual materials begin with suggestions for designing overhead transparencies and instructions for making and using mounts, masks, and overlays for the transparencies. Directions are then provided for constructing thermal filmstrips for use on the overhead projector and thermal slides for title and…

Presents a framework for organizing research and theory in the areas of psychology, pedagogy, and technology as they relate to interactive multimedia; and derives principles and implications for the design of interactive multimedia. Highlights include prior knowledge, the organization and utilization of knowledge, feedback, concept maps, and…

Intended for use by media specialists, this report presents techniques for effective communication and suggests ways of reaching out to various groups. Guidelines are provided for the production and distribution of semester reports on the school library media program, together with suggestions for the development of program goals and objectives,…

This paper develops a rationale for individualization of instruction and after a brief discussion of two alternative approaches--diagnostic-prescriptive teaching and modularized instruction--promotes learning centers as a practical approach to such individualization. Learning centers are defined as compact, highly-structured sets of didactic…

This guide provides the highlights of a demonstration session on how to prepare a newsletter using Multiscribe and Appleworks, as well as suggestions for preparing other publications. It includes basic guidelines for preparing a newsletter; directions for using Multiscribe/Appleworks to produce a newsletter; a sample media center newsletter;…