Illustrates how each of these principles may guide decisions about Web-based design for young children consistent with developmentally appropriate practice: (1) simple, clean and concrete design; (2) adult guidance; (3) progressive and individualized; (4) relevant to children; (5) integrated activities; (6) active and enjoyable; and (7)…

Lists eight guiding principles to help Web-based instructional designers. Three areas: pedagogical, social, and technological/support address planning instructional program events, i.e., building the blueprint to guide development and design for Web-based instruction and distance education. (AEF)

Focuses on making Web sites accessible for blind and visually impaired people. Discusses the possibility of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) becoming applicable to Web sites; tools that allow the visually impaired to use computers and the Web; 18 guidelines for designing an effective, accessible, and maintainable Web site; and testing for…

Discusses the use of virtual environments (VEs) in teaching and learning. Examines the characteristics of effective VE in learning environments, looking at the added value produced by immersion, whereby students learn directly rather than through difficult symbol systems. Many apprehensions about VE are corrected, and the conclusions drawn are…

This article describes how students with disabilities can utilize a combination of customized home pages and assistive technology tools to access the World Wide Web. Tips for designing Web pages with specific modifications for students with different disabilities are provided, along with general design guidelines. (Contains seven references.) (CR)

Within the field of teacher education, there are software designers creating software based on case-based learning theories. This paper examines the difficulties encountered in teacher preparation, and discusses how case-based instruction can address them. It analyzes three software packages designed for case-based teacher education, and discusses…

Describes the objective behind this special issue: to identify a science content area (physics for eighth to eleventh graders), work with science teachers to produce a set of content materials, and present a common content outline to a group of instructional designers. The first article describes the derivation of the content outline. The next…

Discusses the importance of positive video game experiences and designs that can create them, including immediacy of feedback, allowing graceful recovery from mistakes, high-quality feedback, and input device mappings. Examines interface complexity. Concludes game designers must treat the interaction between human and video game as a formal…

Managing a company's knowledge requires a different set of skills than are typically found in a corporate Web team. Chief among these is a "customer-obsessed" philosophy. The job of taking content, tools, and data and providing a platform that makes it meaningful is an inevitable next step for Web teams in the age of the new intranet.…

Discusses experiences of Schlumberger IT Sourcing (Austin, Texas) in designing and deploying knowledge management (KM) systems and outlines the empathic design approach. The new "market" approach in Schlumberger which leads to the simplification of intranet systems and interfaces, creation of a new classification system, and better…

The present paper describes the impact and evaluation of two intervention components--a video with group discussion and an interactive computer-tailored program--in order to encourage adolescents to register their organ donation preference. Studies were conducted in school during regular school hours. The video with group discussion in class had a…

This study considered the utility of gender schema theory in examining girls' website design preferences. It built on a previous study which identified eight website evaluation criteria related to biological sex: collaboration, social connectivity, flexibility, motility, contextuality, personal identification, inclusion, and graphic/multimedia…

This article provides an overview of Telementoring Orchestrator[TM] (TMO), a new web-based software tool designed to aid small or large organizations in supporting telementoring programs (also called online mentoring or e-mentoring programs). In this report, we review the research that inspired the design of the software, and survey the major…

Higher learning organizations frequently offer courses isolated from other disciplines or areas of concentration. The intent of this study was to explore collaboration practices on authentic based projects involving two distinct courses from differing programs: Instructional Technology and Educational Leadership. This paper describes the…

Perhaps no school reform has generated as much interest and controversy in recent years as the proposal to have parents select their children's schools. Opponents of school choice fear that rolling back the government's role will lead to profit-driven financial scandals, sectarianism, and increased class and racial isolation. School choice…