The Center for Interactive Technology, Applications, and Research at the College of Engineering of the University of South Florida (Tampa) has developed objective and descriptive evaluation models to assist in determining the educational potential of computer and video courseware. The computer-based courseware evaluation model and the video-based…

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are learning management software systems that synthesize the functionality of computer-mediated communications software and online methods of delivering course materials. This report focuses on how to evaluate the properties, capabilities and orientation of different systems from an educational perspective, and…

Recommends and describes specific software programs for children based on a review of 1800 titles. Includes recommendations for preschoolers in the areas of language, math, logic, science, art, creativity, and all-purpose. Presents choices for early elementary students including reading, writing, math, logic, science, social studies, creativity,…

Describes a computer-based training program for library staff developed at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, that used HyperCard stacks on Macintosh computers. Highlights include staff involvement; evaluation of modules; trainee participation and feedback; staff recognition; administrative support; implementation plan; supervisory…

Development and evaluation of interactive videodisc (IVD) courseware for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction are described. Effective listening and viewing strategies, identified through descriptive research, were incorporated into an existing ESL IVD. Subjects, 81 college ESL students, were pre-tested, then divided into control and…

A framework is proposed for the formative evaluation of multimedia. It describes techniques that have worked well in the evaluation of software development and gives examples of the use of evaluation results. The focus is primarily on the degree to which the instructional multimedia program supports the user's activities and tasks in the user's…

Almost overnight, the World Wide Web has made the solution of "classic" information retrieval problems a pressing commercial goal. The various information retrieval solutions being offered on the Web are quite familiar to the librarian. The various Web search sites make use of "traditional" inverted indexes, manual indexing,…

Describes the design and evaluation of a prototype electronic performance support system for use in a university setting that was based on a needs analysis relating to an existing lecture-based course. Performance support for staff and for students is examined, and self-study support material is discussed. (LRW)

Discusses the role of interactive multimedia in museums; describes the development and design at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History of a multimedia program on water conservation; analyzes the effect of the presence of audio on the users' completion of the program; and discusses evaluation of the program. (10 references) (LRW)

Concept maps are widely used in education, and have been acclaimed for their excellent results. For efficiently using concept maps in education, computer-based concept mapping systems have been developed. However these computer-based concept mapping systems are limited in their assessment algorithms. The assessment takes only concept nodes as the…

A product evaluation was conducted of "Desire2Learn", an online learning management system gaining popularity in educational institutions. Since an online trial version of the software was not available for evaluation, an inspection meeting with the vendor was arranged. This provided the evaluation team with an opportunity to examine the…

To assist instructors with software development efforts, the Behavioral Learning Center at Pennsylvania State University's Smeal College of Business implemented a method to pilot test instructional software. The developed method was required to collect multichanneled information and was not limited to students' verbal responses to questions.…

Describes the ECOSET project, developed by the European Community to collect data on the current state of formative and summative evaluation activities regarding courseware used within the classroom in Europe. Evaluation instruments and evaluation techniques are described, and their cultural embeddedness and curricular dependencies are discussed.…

Discusses the use of technology to support alternative assessment, including portfolios of student work. Multimedia computer software programs are reviewed; database programs, hypermedia programs, and video portfolios are discussed; technology storage is considered; and future possibilities are suggested, including hardware options. (Contains two…

The web has the potential to offer an environment that can support standardized medical education to students dispersed in time or place and, in the process, respond to reduced availability of patients for practice. This exploratory article describes how we evaluated critical thinking in an online collaborative Problem-based Learning (PBL)…