Describes an instructional database for microcomputers which is designed to eliminate the need for costly textbooks and to aid professors in many of their instructional responsibilities. Various types of databases are explained, and guidelines for hardware selection and backup systems are discussed. (LRW)

Discussion of Internet Gopher databases highlights the Gopher developed for AECT (Association for Educational Communications and Technology). Highlights include access information; guide to the AECT Gopher; access statistics, including international contacts; and future plans. (LRW)

Discusses current optical data disk databases, their uses, and factors that will affect database copyrights. The factors discussed include hardware and software developments, multimedia applications, multiuser capabilities, and downloading capacities. (7 references) (CLB)

Describes services of the New Media Information Center to media specialists in Oakland Schools, the intermediate school district (ISD) for Oakland County (Michigan). Highlights include database training videos; online database tutorials; full-text periodical articles; district database sheets; face-to-face workshops for media specialists and…

Mindtools are computer applications that, when used by learners to represent what they know, engage them in critical thinking. This article discusses computers as semantic organization (databases and semantic networking), dynamic modeling (spreadsheets, expert systems, systems modeling, microworlds), information interpretation, knowledge…

Describes educational applications for Hypercard, a new piece of software for Apple Macintosh microcomputers. Highlights include programing languages; the development of databases; school media center applications; telecomputing possibilities; use in research activities; and the need for Macintosh computers and educational software in elementary…

This first of a two-part series highlights three tools that improve accessibility to Internet resources: (1) Alex, a database that accesses files in FTP (file transfer protocol) sites; (2) Archie, software that searches for file names with a user's search term; and (3) Gopher, a menu-driven program to access Internet sites. (LRW)

To determine how best to use the Internet as a constructivist environment for learning, graduate students in the University of Colorado at Denver's School of Education formed a task force that designed, developed, and implemented a learner support system, including connections to databases related to learning technologies, an online help desk and…

Examines a nonintrusive model for technology training in teacher education and describes the University of Northern Iowa's basic preservice technology training course: educational media and classroom computing. Discusses media production, distance education, hypermedia, e-mail, telecommunications and the Internet, database construction,…

Provides definitions of the following words and phrases that are related to technology and its use in the social sciences classroom: CD-ROM, database, discussion group, e-mail, hypertext and hypermedia, Internet, simulation, spreadsheets, virtual field trip, and World Wide Web. (AEF)

Discussion of at-risk students focuses on the possible role of the school library in the prevention and reduction of dropouts. Topics discussed include locating relevant resources both within and external to the school; database searching; teaching information skills; integrating relevant materials into the curriculum; and making available…

Describes the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in elementary and secondary school classrooms to analyze neighborhoods, cities, and regions. Discusses GIS software, databases, graphing data, and spatial analysis, and includes an example of a project for secondary school students investigating the local economy for summer jobs. (LRW)

Reviews networking projects that have been developed by educational institutions and computer companies. Highlights include minicomputers that network personal computer workstations; voice mail messages; data processing systems; linking university databases; the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET); a computer link between a high school…

Discusses money shortages in Iowa that are affecting school library media specialists and highlights two collaborative efforts: cooperative purchasing of online reference databases, and the Com Cat union catalog. Explains the role of the area education agency (AEA) system in supporting schools and how online databases are being used. (LRW)

Discusses the role of school media specialists in teaching students to navigate information resources available through online systems. Highlights include database searching; use of the Internet; multimedia workstations; integrated learning systems; teaching library skills; authoring software; and teacher utilities. (two references) (LRW)