The increasing availability of recording technologies makes it easier to include usability testing projects in business communication courses. Usability testing is a method of discovering whether people can navigate, read, and understand a print or electronic communication well enough to achieve a particular purpose in a reasonable time frame.…

Describes the development and improvement of a set of programs and programming techniques which made possible the effective "microcomputerization" of practically an entire university's professor evaluation process at very little cost to the institution. Sample output and program listing are included. (JN)

Describes the Adjusted Agreement Index, a strategy for analyzing collected data from questionnaires utilizing Likert-type scales. Steps involved in using this index and its strengths and weaknesses are outlined, and a case study illustrating how it was used to summarize data on a distance education course package is presented. (MBR)

Describes a semester-long simulation based on experiential learning called CO-MADE, which was developed to train teachers in syllabus design and instructional materials development. Simulation design is discussed, and use of the simulation in a postgraduate training program for students wishing to become teachers of English to speakers of other…

The evaluation of distance education courses at the FernUniversitat was an important focus of interest during the initial stages of its development (1974-1980), when courses were being developed for five major departments and the number of students enrolled was increasing rapidly. Since teaching began immediately, a formative evaluation approach…

Universities in Australia have been using the course experience questionnaire (CEQ) for a number of years to measure the quality of teaching. Recently, there have been increasing calls for a broader perspective that takes into account the potential of non-classroom context influences on the student learning experience. This project undertook to…

This thesis charts the development of a reference guide to searchable fields in the ERIC online database including identifying a target audience, planning and preparation of drafts, testing drafts with experienced online searchers and students, incorporating suggestions, and preparing and distributing the final version of the guide. The thesis…

A project entitled the Health Occupations Education Curriculum Project was undertaken to coordinate the 23 secondary cooperative health occupations education (HOE) programs in Arkansas and to develop a well-planned curriculum incorporating the multi-media approach. Included among the other objectives of the project were the following: development…

Examines the use of video for listening comprehension in material design and test construction and discusses test-takers' views about video-mediated listening assessment in an English-as-a-Second-Language class in Tokyo. Findings indicate that the learners liked video in listening comprehension tests and preferred video tests over audiocassette…

This paper presents aspects of modeling, authoring, and presenting structured documents corresponding to teaching material presented in the World Wide Web. In this context, the importance of providing the formalization of the structure of the documents using Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) is discussed. Next, specifications for…

While gathering the 1980 census, the U.S. Census Bureau tried several methods of improving its training of census interviewers. This paper covers three general areas of that experiment. First, it reviews bureau efforts to improve verbatim training and presents selected results from an alternative training experiment conducted in the 1980 census.…

As part of a project to develop a planning guide to assist local vocational education administrators in improving their planning efforts, a needs assessment questionnaire was developed to identify the degree of need for assistance in planning activities. Two hundred sixty-four Missouri local vocational administrators completed the pilot-tested…

Evaluates a materials writing approach to professional development in English language teaching (ELT). The context is the training of teacher trainers, and the specific focus is a United Kingdom course for ELT professionals from Polish teacher training institutions. The article describes the background to the course, analyzes teacher training…

The development of a graduate survey at Ohio Dominican College is described, and guidelines for implementing a graduate survey are provided. The survey assessed student characteristics, activities during college, endeavors after graduation, and attitudes, goals, and values. Project goals included: developing a graduate survey that could also be…

A project was conducted to increase student retention in adult basic education (ABE) programs in Arizona through the publication and distribution of a statewide newspaper for ABE students. Using an Apple Macintosh micro-computer, editorial staff of the newspaper, entitled the Express Press, collected articles written by ABE students and…