The purpose of this project was to provide guidance to ERIC on how to facilitate product information retrieval. Information on practitioner needs, on the use of descriptors and abstracting procedures, and on alternatives for improving the system was gathered and circulated to NIE staff members. The resulting document described three alternative…

The Computerized Educational Guidance System (EDGUYD) permits one to narrow post high school educational planning where consideration is given to all 1,448 4-year colleges and universities in the United States. This, to be sure, is a feat no human counselor is capable of without a computer. The Educational Success Index (ESI) is the means used by…

Asserts that future distance education will be dominated by the virtual school. Measures the potential of telecommunications, computer assisted learning, audio/visual systems and computer conferencing against the definition of a virtual school. Concludes that conferencing is the only technology capable of serving as the basis for a virtual school.…

A microcomputer database management system is used to create and index profiles of individual college faculty and to monitor their expertise (curricular, research, professional subject interests) and trends in university programs. The faculty profile is useful in improved referrals, collection development activities, staff orientation, and public…

Describes the VECM (Vocational Education Curriculum Materials) database and how it can help solve curriculum problems. Elements of this database are discussed: ease of entry and retrieval of information, how information is coded, equipment needed to gain entry, how to use the database, uniqueness of the database, and membership information. (CT)

Processes involved in computer searching of information systems are explained, with some caveats for the use of online searching by students and faculty. Among the concerns are overestimates of the efficacy of searching, inconsistency in search services and strategies, and other potential problems of search results' relevance. (MSE)

PROMIS (Problem Oriented/Medical Information System), a performance-based system of medical education, is described and suggestions for its application to other educational settings are discussed. PROMIS emphasizes the clarification of educational goals and the evaluation of students doing real work in real settings. (JMD)

Presents the digital age challenge of tailoring information technologies to support activities of individual communities of users, while creating a globally distributed information infrastructure enabling systems and services to interoperate. Examines: "What is a digital collection?""What is a library?""What is a…

Development of Arizona State University's computing architecture, designed to ensure that all new distributed computing pieces will work together, is described. Aspects discussed include the business rationale, the general architectural approach, characteristics and objectives of the architecture, specific services, and impact on the university…

A successful one-year medical information system pilot project responded to 240 questions by 47 physicians in 10 rural Alberta (Canada) communities. On average, each physician submitted 5.1 questions, and each community submitted 24 questions. Physicians received responses in a median of 7.3 hours or could conduct their own searches. (Author/MSE)

A product of the UNISIST International Centre for Bibliographic Descriptions (UNIBID), this reference manual presents a standardized communication format for the exchange of machine-readable bibliographic information between bibliographic databases or other types of bibliographic information services, including libraries. Its first section defines…

The development of a computer-based decision support system for outcomes assessment at Southeast Missouri State University is described. A menu-driven, user-based retrieval and analysis and reporting system, the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) was designed. The decision support system incorporates two major components, research group…

This document is divided into two parts: the first presents a taxonomy of questions designed for a hypothetical computer database; the second describes the rationale for a question oriented approach to data. This taxonomy is described as a list of questions an educator might use to find out more about the achievement, attendance, and…

This paper presents a study of the contrast of social and clinical perspectives on the selection and use of information by school staff, including: (1) an outline of the context and activities of the study; (2) a definition and discussion of the basic distinction between social and clinical perspectives; (3) an examination of case material…

The four papers presented in this book are intended to promote awareness of educational applications of microcomputer systems, educational software, telecommunications networks, and cable television. An introduction and a list of contributors precede the papers, which discuss specific topics related to computers and new technologies in education:…