These quarterly reports for June and September 1979 are two in a series concerned with describing a research project to design, test, and evaluate a machine intermediary which teaches and assists users of the DIALOG system. Report No. 5 explains in detail the instructional aspect of the Individualized Instruction for Data Access (IIDA) project and…

Information technology may help physicians to manage information more effectively through more accessible clinical indexes, databases of diagnostic test characteristics, computerized audits of clinical activities, on-line access to medical literature, etc. Medical informatics, a new discipline dedicated to the solution of information problems in…

Describes a technique being developed for online instruction and assistance for bibliographic database searchers called Individualized Instruction for Data Access (IIDA). The objectives of the project are discussed, as well as the use modes and flow of control of the system, and seven references are included. (Author/BK)

Discusses the design of online scoring software for computer-based education supporting high psychometric and fairness standards. Describes a system from the point of view of graders and supervisors; the design of the underlying database; data integrity and confidentiality; and the advantages of database design and online grading. (PEN)

A review of the literature indicates that innovations in technology are making it possible for the consumer of information, the end user, to gather his own information online. The information specialist's role is changing from that of a researcher to a trainer and leader in the information gathering process. Reports on end user training indicate…

The increasing presence and use of computers in libraries has brought about the more frequent introduction of computers and their uses into library education. The Drexel University Graduate School of Library Science has introduced the computer into the curriculum more through individual experimentation and innovation than by planned development.…

Computer software designed to help college students of history think like historians is described. The software enables students to search for patterns in large bodies of evidence using interactive access, through a map interface, to historical county-level United States census data. The software and a history course in which the software has been…

The problems faced in accessing the contents of online bibliographic data bases are assessed, and current training techniques are summarized and evaluated. A new training program, which delivers training to the trainee's home terminal, simulating interactive retrieval systems that search files and provide messages and displays, is described. (JPF)

Describes Datamondo, an instructional package that introduces the use of a newspaper database in humanities teaching at the secondary level in Italy. The effectiveness of the package in developing basic linguistic skills and as a research tool is evaluated. (8 references) (Author/CLB)

Reports on the development of the Individualized Instruction for Data Access System (IIDA), a computer system designed at Drexel University, which serves as an intermediary enabling users to perform complex tasks on another computer. Capabilities of the instruction mode and assistance mode are discussed. Fifteen references are cited. (EJS)

Describes the Context Information System, a prototype retrieval system designed for online searching in an educational environment. Use of the system in Israeli high schools to encourage the development of research skills is discussed, emphasizing the use of databases for hypothesis testing and comparative analysis of data. (six references) (LRW)

The realization that the facilities available for the retrieval of scientific and technical information were being underutilized resulted in a project undertaken by the Drexel University School of Library and Information Science to develop a computer intermediary capable of assisting users of scientific and technical information in the performance…

A brief summary of the progress and status of the Individualized Instruction for Data Access (IIDA) project is followed by a report focusing on the principles and rules for analyzing a computer search performed using the IIDA software, and adaptation rules for the deferment of error messages in the case of frequent violations of the same rule. The…

Noting that the educational sector in Britain has been a small but influential user of videotex systems since the launch of the public Prestel service in 1979, this paper surveys the main trial uses in education. The studies reviewed begin with a 1-year trial of Prestel in 1980-81, which identified two applications as having further potential: as…

A brief summary of the progress and status of the Individualized Instruction for Data Access (IIDA) project is followed by a report dealing with two studies in the environment for which the system was intended. These field experiments were conducted with research engineers and chemists at two different Exxon Research and Engineering Company sites.…