The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) has been planned as an ongoing program of assessment. The first cycle of the assessment has involved two "rounds." The first round, which is covered by this report, took place over the period of January 2008-October 2013. The main features of the first cycle of…

The Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) will establish technical standards and guidelines to ensure that the survey design and implementation processes of PIAAC yield high-quality and internationally comparable data. This document provides a revised version of the technical standards and guidelines originally…

Notes that many companies want to reduce paper documentation necessary to support their products. Maintains that, if technical communicators are to avoid being downsized out of a job, they must build on their existing communication skills and move toward product design, helping to produce products so obvious that they need no manuals. (SR)

Discusses "open source": a method of distributing software in which programmers make available to all the actual text of their programs. Notes that this makes possible "open-source" writing in the same way that the printing press made possible "open-source" reading, enabling mass literacy. Examines implications of…

The Chart Wizard in Microsoft Excel is supposed to make chart drawing so easy that a child can do it, yet many intelligent adults fail to use it successfully. This article suggests some simple principles that resolve many of the difficulties.

Using Excel, an interactive program is designed to simulate the Solow and endogenous growth models to facilitate the understanding of these models for students of growth theory and macroeconomics.

Reviews three computer software programs for classroom use: Muppet Word Book, for children three to six; Dragon Game Series, on parts of speech, for students in grades four through high school; and Chemistry Achievement I, for students who are 16 to 18 years old, or in grades 10 to 12. (BB)

Describes several salient features of multidimensional scaling (MDS) for spatial distance models including proximity measures, interpoint distances, goodness-of-fit, and distinctions between metric and nonmetric scaling. Four commonly used MDS computer programs are described, and a section on applications of MDS selected from the counseling…

While I wrote this column, there seemed to be a lull in new software announcements for education and educators. Perhaps it is reflective of the tightening of school budgets or the heavy emphasis on standardized tests and strictly measurable results here in the United States, which has lead to fewer really exciting software announcements lately.…

EDUCOM, a consortium of more than 500 colleges and universities involved in computing, favors the establishment of a review process that would help professors identify useful computer programs and promote the recognition of software development as a scholarly activity worthy of credit toward tenure and promotion. (MLW)

Describes relatively new statistical method, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), for estimating linear equations that explain outcomes for members of groups as a function of characteristics of groups and characteristics of members. Illustrates theory, practice, and interpretation of HLM in school effects studies. Discusses other education…

This paper contains brief synopses of recent technical progress/projects in the field of advanced learning systems. This issue contains the following 12 items: (1) "Guest Editorial" (Sylvia Charp) concerning the need to provide better learning experiences for all students; (2) "Steps in Developing an Expert Systems Model," as…

This second part of a report on artificial intelligence focuses on the development of expert systems in a variety of applications, from engineering to science, and details expectations for implementation of these systems. (JN)

Discusses the definition, purposes, and advantages and disadvantages of electronic books. Notes the types of embedded resources present in them, offers an example of an electronic book, and suggests three steps to evaluate and select electronic books for the curriculum. (SR)

Describes computer-adaptive tests and computer-based tests used in improvement-referenced evaluation. Reviews tests developed by the Northwest Evaluation Association and Lexia. (PKP)