Discusses the benefits and disadvantages of television as a learning medium for adults. Concludes that television's positive benefits outweigh the negative effects, provided that the medium is seen as just one part of a larger whole. (CH)

Reports on the design and development of video-based learning objects created to enhance the educational experiences of American Sign Language (ASL) hearing participants in a distance learning course that used video conferencing and Web-based technologies and, following the course, the creation of new applications for use of the learning objects.…

From a didactic point of view, it is both possible and desirable to prepare video programs for foreign language teaching more carefully than is currently being done. Several theoretical elements of video production are essential to the best possible exploitation of the medium for foreign language instruction. (Author/CB)

Discusses CD-i (Compact Disk-Interactive) and its possible uses for training. Topics addressed include examples of companies now using CD-i for training; advantages of CD-i and computer-based training; standards for CD-i; repurposing video and videodisks to CD-i; use in industrial settings and for federally mandated training; and marketing. (LRW)

Describes the content, pedagogy, organization, technical design, and evaluation of "The Five Points: A Multimedia Experience in Social History," a videodisc-based interactive program that was repurposed from a videotape that addressed group conflict and minority issues in an urban environment in the 1850s. (Contains 12 references.) (LRW)

Examines the "whats" and "hows" of first-grade urban children's appropriation of sports and sports-related media material for participation in unofficial peer worlds and official academic ones. Reveals the potential hybrid nature of even the earliest of children's written texts. Suggests that learning to write involves work of the imagination on…

A number of recent studies have found that objects are named more slowly in the context of same-category items than in the context of items from various semantic categories. Several experiments reported here indicated that this semantic effect is relatively persistent because it was essentially unaffected by the presence of interspersed filler…

To determine the optimal uses of educational hypermedia for older adult learners, it is prudent to conduct research focusing on this particular participant group. However, the value of research findings, especially in cross-sectional studies, may depend on attentiveness towards the specific needs of older adults. Ignoring these needs may lead to…

Faced with the diversity-efficiency dilemma, private companies apply "mass customization" strategies to add diversity without adding costs. As schools are urged to become more "customer oriented" they also face a diversity-efficiency dilemma. This article asks how Dutch secondary schools cope with this dilemma and to what…

There are more similarities than differences among learning management system (LMS) software products. In a recent study, Carriere, Challborn, and Moore compared a variety of LMSs and went as far as to suggest that the only real differences between systems lie in marketing approaches. In addition, because LMSs have interchangeable parts, those…

This article explores the use for ELT young learners of predictable stories and books. These stories and books originally written for native English speaking children are finding their way into classrooms for second and foreign language learners. This genre can be used to help native English speaking children as well as children learning English…

The book has made the transition to the digital age; that much is certain. However, the jury is still out on what form or forms the book of the future will take and how libraries will adapt. This article is a look at the impact of digital books on public library acquisitions, including available formats, purchasing considerations, functional…

This report emphasizes the techniques required today for effective slide construction and contains suggestions about the nuts and bolts of slide preparation. Two instructors developed a presentation at Utah Valley State College to enhance their teaching of the sonnet and the Japanese haiku. Their premise: since poetry is a highly visual art form,…

This is a descriptive listing of periodicals available in special media to blind and physically handicapped persons throughout the country. Part 1 lists all magazines produced by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) for its free reading program. Magazines listed in Part 1 are available at no charge through…

Instructional designers who are asked to convert existing training materials into computer-based training (CBT) must take special precautions to avoid making the product into a sophisticated page turner. Although conversion may save considerable time on subject research and analysis, courses to be delivered through microcomputers may require…