The National Science Foundation (NSF) is providing funds for coalitions of engineering educational institutions to improve the quality of undergraduate engineering education. A hypothesis that is being tested is that people can learn better in environments that allow self-paced and/or collaborative learning. The main tools for providing this…

This paper briefly describes two interactive multimedia research and development projects, the Palenque Project (1985-1991) at Bank Street College, and the Museum Education Consortium's Interactive Video Project (1988-1991) at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. It is noted that the designs of both prototypes share experimentation with a…

The conference reported in this document provides a meeting place for researchers from around the world, where the emphasis is on new ideas connected to computer technologies in education. This volume contains 140 extended abstracts selected by the program committee and organized into the following categories: (1) educational informational…

The thoughts of a group of preservice teachers about classroom technology were studied by asking them to visualize their ideal classrooms. They were then asked to visualize, or visually represent, their thinking on paper by completing a map of the ideal classroom. Subjects were 106 education majors, 8 of whom were male. Classroom maps were…

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…

The design issues involved in the effective use of computer-mediated communication in a multimedia distance education environment are examined, with particular reference to recent and current initiatives at the Open University in Great Britain. A description of the components of the Open University's electronic campus (the conferencing system and…

The multimedia self-instructional systems approach to reading instruction utilized at Wascana Institute in Canada has helped a growing number of adult learners succeed in their career training courses. The self-paced program involves sequential instruction in perception and conception, focusing on the minimum essential skills assessed by the…

Focusing on the diversity of the uses of technology in education and the institutions which apply them, this book presents 13 articles describing technological transformations in teaching at two-year colleges throughout the United States. The book contains: (1) "Tradition and Technology at Amarillo College: People Make the Difference," by Diana…

Formal educational environments often provide less support for learning than do the everyday environments available to young children. This paper considers the concept of idealized learning environments, defined as "Havens." Various components of Havens are discussed that may facilitate comprehension, especially in science instruction.…

Prescription Learning is a multi-media diagnostic prescriptive program providing individualized instruction using six instructional strategies. Nine elementary schools and four middle schools in the Portland Public School District used Prescriptive Learning to provide supplemental reading and math instruction to low-performing students. Selected…

Faculty members are the most important resource for attaining high student achievement and retention rates. At the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC), interviews with instructors who achieved over 90% retention for the Spring 1979 semester revealed that their courses were well-structured, used materials related to students' needs, and did not rely…

The central purpose of the project's research efforts is its concentration on: (1) the placing of career development of noncollege bound in a learning theory frameowrk, (2) how to communicate with and motivate the noncollege bound, and (3) the development of materials and techniques designed to provide the kind of stimulus that will permit an…

Eleven conference papers treat designing learning modules, or complete instructional facilities, for the deaf. The following aspects are considered: the changing classroom, a multimedia approach to teaching American History, a project design for a special school, and educational implications of architecture for the deaf. Further topics are…

A pilot study was conducted to demonstrate the use of dance as a method for improving and extending curriculum content of world cultures in elementary schools. The secondary objectives emphasized nonverbal experience as a means of interpreting the patterns of cultural values in West and Central Africa. Most of the 41 presentations of the dance…

Because many pesticides are potentially injurious to their users and can have a deleterious effect on the environment when misused, the Environmental Protection Agency has restricted the use of some chemicals to certified users only. A program was developed to assess the need for training in pesticide use, to develop the necessary curriculum, to…