Today's hyper-connected students live in a world of instant interpersonal communications and virtually infinite access to information and educational resources. But this networked world, and the powerful learning tools it offers, has yet to penetrate the typical classroom. In many ways educational institutions are spinning their curricular wheels,…

To generate motivation and promote the development of written communication skills, students in a freshman-level anatomy and physiology course for nonmajors created group webpages describing historically important diseases. After the groups had been formed, each individual was assigned specific components of the disease (e.g., causes or…

The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, located on the National Naval Medical Center's campus in Bethesda, Maryland, is a medical education and research facility for the nation's military and public health community. In order to support its approximately 7,500 globally distributed users, the university's James A. Zimble Learning…

The Internet has opened new ways of learning and has brought several advantages to computer-aided education. Global access, self-paced learning, asynchronous teaching, interactivity, and multimedia usage are some of these. Along with the advantages comes the challenge of designing the software using the available facilities. Integrating online…

Web 2.0 communication tools have considerable promise for supporting collaborative learning. But there is a need for research examining learners' and teachers' experiences of the newer communication tools, such as wikis, in comparison with well-established tools, such as discussion forums. This paper reports on an initiative where distance…

Browsing tools have been developed to help users make effective use of the large amounts of information in hypermedia applications, aiding the user both in orientation (Where am I in the collection of information contained in the hypermedia application?) and in navigation (How do I get to another specific piece of information?). There are few…

A multimedia encyclopedia (MME) demonstration disk has been developed by the Microsoft Corporation, which contains five-page articles on 12 subjects. Each article contains text, images, audio, and in some cases, animation and full motion digital images. Each MME article is constructed as a network of linked text, image, and sound files. With mouse…

Reviews the historical evolution of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and discusses recent advances in intelligent systems. Intelligent tutoring systems are described from the system designer's and learner's perspectives, and possible future applications are considered. A list of existing intelligent CAI systems is provided. (14 references) (CLB)

Discusses intelligent tutoring systems (ITS), one application of artificial intelligence to computers used in education. Basic designs of ITSs are described; examples are given including PROUST, GREATERP, and the use of simulation with ITSs; protocol analysis is discussed; and 38 prototype ITSs are listed. (LRW)

Follows the decision-making process for an embedded help solution to replace a help system that had trained users not to use it. Discusses solutions for implementing embedded help. Considers how to design a solution that not only lures users back to the user assistance, but also encourages users to learn more about the product. (SG)

Summarizes opinions of scholars in various disciplines on workstation history, definition, and functions. Networks and configurations for library workstations, including hardware and software recommendations, are described. The impact of workstations on the workplace resulting in task, process, and institutional transformation, is also considered.…

Provides background on the problems of traditional text retrieval systems and describes STATUS/IQ, an advanced text retrieval system that incorporates a natural language front-end and an advanced relevance ranking facility. The principles, capabilities, and benefits of the system are discussed, and an example of a STATUS/IQ session is presented…

Discussion of the preparation of knowledge for problems appropriate for expert systems focuses on relationships among problem attributes and their solutions through the creation of a solution matrix. Two examples are given, one for wine selection and one for decisions that an automobile manufacturer's sales force might have to make. (LRW)

While most organizations, including libraries, can benefit from a structured wiring system, few likely have the expertise and resources to place, specify, and install network cabling by themselves. This article reviews common wiring plans, addresses basic concepts of structured wiring systems, and discusses the importance and benefits of such a…

Describes Oregon Online, the gopher developed for Oregon to provide efficient public access and distribution of government information to citizens via Internet as well as by dial-up access. System development and planning, including the use of ASCII (American Standard Code Information Interchange) format rather than HTML (hypertext mark-up…