This special section includes "The View from the Middle" (Dick Schaaf); "Crossing the Channel" (Dawn Garrett); and "Bandwidth Basics" (Dick Schaaf). Sidebars look at bandwidth and management issues as well as courseware development. (JOW)

Discusses the evolution of multimedia instructional approaches and users' expectations. Highlights include how educational software fits into the existing media-mix, restrictions users face, the didactic concepts, educational software development, what systems should be used for programming, how to build human resources, and the future of…

The integration of existing applications in hypermedia environments is a promising approach towards more flexible and user-friendly hypermedia learning materials. A hypermedia courseware editor, called HyDE (Hypermedia Document Editor) was developed using Microsoft Windows TM OLE technology. OLE (object Linking and Embedding) stands for an…

Regulatory agencies around the world require that those involved in producing pharmaceutical products be adequately trained. E-learning can accomplish this, providing consistent delivery and learner assessment. However, there are some unique expectations that regulators and the pharmaceutical industry have of e-learning solutions. These include…

Examines how the use of server-based courseware development solutions affects the instructional design process when creating online distance education. Highlights include pedagogical, visual interface (e.g., visual metaphor and navigation layout), interaction, and instructional design implications of online courseware. (Contains 54 references.)…

Experience has shown that the production of rich-media content for Web-based courses tends to be extremely cost- and time-consuming. One way for campus-based universities to reduce authoring costs is to automate the production process by using suitable tools for capturing live lectures. This paper describes different technical approaches to…

Discusses three factors that have particular relevance for the designers of instruction for adult distance learners: (1) support for learner control; (2) access to different levels of interaction; and (3) availability and ease of use of different technology platforms. Topics include motivation for change and the design of courseware. (Author/LRW)

Discusses courseware development, including intelligent tutoring systems, under the Teaching and Learning Technology Programme and the Byzantium project that was designed to define computer-aided learning performance standards suitable for numerate business subjects; examine reasons to use computer-aided learning; and improve access to educational…

Defines social and instructional interaction and outlines key elements influencing the design of adaptive computer-mediated learning. Discusses options for the design of interactivity: Web-based, groupware, programming tools, and hybrid course design programs; proposes a graphical model for choosing design tools balancing interactivity and…

The rapid advancement of communication technologies is resulting in a wide array of design and development choices for distance learning projects. The 58th Special Operations Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, is developing a prototype distance learning project designed to serve geographically separated learner populations. Project staff…

Topics in education are changing with an ever faster pace. Especially in the field of lifeling learning, the aspects that need to be taught by information providers must keep up to date with emerging topics. The Courseware watchdog is a comprehensive module that allows users to focus on existing subfields of a discipline, but thereby be aware of…

Describes the development of the Cooperative Remotely Accessible Learning (CORAL) system on the Internet at National Chiao Tung University (Taiwan) that promotes cooperative constructive distance learning and provides the first comprehensive and networked courseware written in Chinese. Results of formative evaluation are described and future…

Distance educators need to forge new partnerships with the traditional university and collaborate in creating new systems, academic course software, and supporting networks for information transmission. (Author/AEF)

Discusses computer programs for textual research in literature and describes a graduate course on computing for the humanities that was developed at Dakota State University that used the World Wide Web and included students from throughout the world. Assignments for the course are described and benefits of textual analysis are discussed. (LRW)

This paper discusses how a university designed, developed, and delivered a feature-rich Web-based course for undergraduate plant biology. In the design stage, the focus centered around curriculum design, content development, and media acquisition. Instructors, including faculty and graduate assistants of plant biology, served as content experts,…