All 600 high schools and about one-third of the 1,600 elementary schools in Israel are now using computers. Most installations use one of four highly developed courseware systems. Experiences with these systems (Mashow, Semel, Toam 2, and Tapauch) are described. (JN)

Sixteen articles discuss the library/subscription agency relationship and changes brought about by automation in the United States. The work of the agency as publisher and in other exceptional areas is also described, and relevant activities in Great Britain, the Middle East, and Nigeria are considered. A selected bibliography on automated…

A brief discussion and description of one commercially available software package ("Pour Ecrire un Mot") for writing letters of various types uses the love letter as an example of the software's functioning. Answers to the prompting questions on the screen determine the few variable parameters of the text to be generated. (four…

Discussion of the development of educational software focuses on a project at the Dutch Open University to develop a pedagogical design specification method for educational software that is not bound to specific instructional design principles or learning theories. "SHOC-TOOL" is described as a supporting tool for use with interactive…

Portable software applications can be carried on a convenient storage medium such as a USB drive, and offer numerous benefits to mobile teachers and learner. The article illustrates the growing field of "portable apps" in reviews of seven contrasting products. These represent the major categories of document editing, email maintenance,…

This paper describes the theoretical framework and the main objectives of the European Comenius project MuViT -- Multiliteracy Virtual. The project engages primary pupils across the world in multilingual and audiovisual reading and writing processes through the use of information technology resources to enhance multi-literacies, plurilingual…

Promoting the development of students' scientific inquiry capabilities is a major learning objective in science education. As a result, teachers require effective assessment approaches to evaluate students' scientific inquiry-related performance. Teachers must also be able to offer appropriate supplementary instructions, as needed, to students.…

Learning theory suggests that student learning can be improved if students are required to articulate and reflect about work that they have done. This process helps students think more clearly about their work and such articulation also enables tutors to better assess student knowledge and mental models. There are various electronic tools…

In this article, we report the observed differential uptake and use of computer programs and activities of seven boys and girls of high, medium and low attainment in a classroom in the UK where over 40 children aged 10 and 11 have a networked PC on their desk all day and every day. We observed the detail of what happened in the small space between…

Purpose: To describe the development of the library management system, e-Granthalaya, for public libraries in India. This is an initiative of the Indian government's National Informatics Centre (NIC). The paper outlines the challenges and the potential of a full-scale deployment of this software at a national level. Design/methodology/approach:…

In the previous report in this series, Web browser loading times were measured in 12 Asian countries, and were found to be up to four times slower than commonly prescribed as acceptable. Failure of webpages to load at all was frequent. The current follow-up study compares these loading times with the complexity of the Internet routes linking the…

A survey of 24 English-as-a-Second-Language teacher trainees in Singapore elicited their top five criteria for evaluating language-learning software and their interpretations and understanding of one criterion, "user-friendliness." It was found that in general, this was the first criterion listed for software evaluation; the others were,…

Discusses an evaluation of WebCT (Web Course Tools) in practice at University of New South Wales (Australia) to assess the accessibility of WebCT for people with sensory, cognitive, and physical disabilities. Topics include evaluation methodology; learner-centered courseware design model; course evaluation by students; staff perceptions; and…

This dissertation questions the common assumption that e-learning requires a "learning management system" (LMS) such as Moodle or Blackboard. Based on an analysis of the current state of the art in LMSs, we come to the conclusion that the functionality of conventional e-learning platforms consists of basic content management and…

The paper presents a theoretical framework addressing three aspects of embodied pedagogical agents: visual static appearance, pedagogical role, and communicative style. The framework is then applied to a user study where 90 school children (aged 12-15) in a dummy multimedia program were presented with either an instructor or a learning companion…