This paper presents a review of literature that introduces major concepts and issues in using avatars and pedagogical agents in first- and second-person virtual environments (VEs) for learning online. In these VEs, avatars and pedagogical agents represent self and other learners/participants or serve as personal learning "guides". The…

Provides an overview of Circuit II, an interactive system that provides users with a graphical representation of an electronic circuit within which questions may be posed and manipulated, and discusses how mouse selections have analogous roles to certain natural language features, such as anaphora, deixis, and ellipsis. (13 references) (EA)

Presents a theoretical framework for navigation in information retrieval systems and describes a prototype retrieval system that was developed to investigate navigation. The use of a visual interface in a spatial representation scheme is described, and results of a user-based evaluation of the system are reported. User questionnaires are appended.…

Presents an information systems navigation approach using a combination of functionalities encountered in classification processes, Hypertext systems, and information retrieval systems. The first version of the SYRIUS system is described, with emphasis on the user's graphic interface which integrates these functionalities. (26 references) (EA)

Notecards is a computer environment designed to help people work with ideas by providing a set of tools for a variety of specific activities, which can range from sketching on the back of an envelope to formally representing knowledge. The basic framework of this hypermedia system is a semantic network of electronic notecards connected by…

Discusses methods for the retrieval of help knowledge items using graphical tree structures that conform to the hierarchical nature of the tutorial information being referenced. The implementation of "Study Tree Presenter," a special purpose "hypertext shell" that provides such access is described and several samples of screen…

Intermedia, a hypermedia system developed at Brown University's Institute for Research (Rhode Island) in Information and Scholarship, is first described, and then used as a case study to explore a number of key issues that software designers must consider in the development of hypermedia document systems. A hypermedia document system is defined as…

This paper begins with a description of the context and background of cognitive research into knowledge acquisition and representation for computer based training. The nature of concept maps is alluded to and examples are given of the ways that maps can facilitate knowledge elicitation. It is noted that: (1) the concept knowledge in this research…

Describes a graphic modeling, natural language processing system, VerbalImage, which mimics features of human shape reasoning. Subjects read the same text description and were able to recognize the image generated by the computer from among a series of other computer-generated images. Performance on task was as good as for a control group…

"Intermedia" is a hypermedia system which was developed for use in university research and teaching. It provides a framework for object-oriented, direct manipulation editors and applications, and the capability to link together materials created with those applications. Instructors are able to construct exploratory environments for their…

Discussion of the use of computers in education focuses on a graphics-based system for teaching the Pascal programing language for problem solving. Topics discussed include user interface; notification based systems; communication processes; object oriented programing; workstations; graphics architecture; and flowcharts. (18 references) (LRW)

The SAGRES system is an educational environment built on the Web that facilitates the organization of visits to museums, presenting museum information bases in a way adapted to the user's characteristics (capacities and preferences). The system determines the group of links appropriate to the user(s) and shows them in a resultant HTML page. In…

Compares two authoring tools that were developed to enable users without programing experience to create and modify software. HyperCard, designed for Macintosh microcomputers, and ToolBook, for microcomputers that run on MS-DOS, are compared in the areas of programing languages, graphics and printing capabilities, user interface, system…

Discussion of the use of authoring systems for courseware development focuses on guidelines to be considered when designing authoring systems. Topics discussed include allowing a variety of instructional strategies; interaction with peripheral processes such as student records; the editing process; and human factors in computer interface design,…

Computer enhanced teaching of computational mathematics on a network system driving graphics terminals is being redeveloped for a mouse-driven, high resolution, windowed environment of a UNIX work station. Preservation of the features of networked access by heterogeneous terminals is provided by the use of the X Window environment. A dmonstrator…