Expert systems offer school possibilities beyond relieving employees of routine work. In the future, expert systems will become tools for budgeting, staff training, and teaching. Describes a system developed at Utah State University, "Mandate Consultant," that helps school staff review the legally mandated steps in developing individualized…

Discusses the history, goals, and partnerships of the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID) created in October 1997 and the hiring of Doug Van Houweling as CEO. UCAID supports Internet2 (or Internet II) a collaborative effort between higher education and industry to facilitate and coordinate the development of advanced…

As Internet use becomes integral to the life of institutions, awareness of what it takes to make Web sites accessible to each and every user is crucial. Successful Web sites are easy to access and navigate, including software designed to help people with disabilities. This article presents guidelines for building sites that are truly accessible.…

Purposeful design of feedback during computer-based training development projects is necessary for an instructionally sound product. This paper examines the following aspects of feedback: importance, categories, research findings, different types of instruction, different types of questions, simulations, relationship to motivation, screen design,…

Presents results of experiments with the use of adaptable courseware. Discusses characteristics of educational software and influences on curricular implementation; adaptable educational software; applied adaptable courseware and related adaptation instruments; the research method; and experimental results. Concludes that adaptable courseware will…

The Structured Sound Function (SSF) Model is proposed as a method for adding audio to educational computer programs. Topics include the background of the SSF Model; educational hypermedia computing; the two approaches (structure-before-function and function-before-structure) of applying the SSF Model; and recent applications. (57 references)…

Discusses the use of state-of-the-art software tools in teaching a graduate, advanced, relational database design course. Results indicated a positive student response to the prototype of expert systems software and a willingness to utilize this new technology both in their studies and in future work applications. (JKP)

An overview is provided of current trends in virtual reality research and development, including discussion of hardware, types of virtual reality, and potential problems with virtual reality. Implications for education and training are explored. (Author/JKP)

Suggests the learning curve of a multi-user, object-oriented domain (MOO) blockades effective use. Discusses use of an IBM/PC-compatible interface that allows developers to modify the interface to provide a sense of presence for the user. Concludes that work in programming a variety of interfaces has led to a more intuitive environment for…

Describes a design for a computer-based environment to assist students in conducting dialectical activities of constructing, comparing, and evaluating arguments for competing scientific theories. (ZWH)

Urges sociologists to direct more attention toward computer usage because of computers' increasing importance in producing sociological knowledge. Criticizes professional ambivalence toward computer technology as inhibiting creative software development and adequate training of sociologists in computer methods. Concludes that sociology's…

Suggests that teachers/teacher educators/trainees can be effective scriptwriters when they are exposed to the characteristics and attributes of educational media, and that scriptwriting should be an essential part of every teacher-education program. A sufficient number of good educational scripts would lead to the increase in production of…

Discusses the design and use of the Computer Model for Language Acquisition (COMOLA), a computer program designed to analyze syntactic development in second-language learners by examining their oral utterances. Also compares COMOLA to the recently developed Computer-Aides Linguistic Analysis (COALA) program. (MDM)

Presented is an overview of "Boxer," a multipurpose computational user-friendly medium, the focus of this special issue presenting research involving its use. With its roots in LOGO, the design of Boxer is described and an overview of the articles in the issue is given. (MDH)

Examines the effective use of computers in an undergraduate classroom based on the needs and desires of multiple-interest groups: students, instructors, support staff, administrators, software developers, publishers, and faculty colleagues. Suggests that the successful integration of technology will meet the needs of each group. (Author/LRW)