Describes how to construct questions to test all cognitive levels of learning for a course in introductory programming. The framework for learning is based on Bloom's taxonomy. Practical advice is given through examples and by describing a computer system to help deliver quizzes. Includes example questions. (Author/AEF)

Designing the instructional interface is a challenging endeavor requiring knowledge and skills in instructional and visual design, psychology, human-factors, ergonomic research, computer science, and editorial design. This paper describes the instructional interface, the challenges of its development, and an instructional systems approach to its…

Describes the CESAR training system, a hypermedia learning environment for hearing-impaired children that has been developed by a multidisciplinary team. Discusses the design principles to define the training material; and creating and using the material. (AEF)

Describes the design and implementation of a system for the selective dissemination of information (SDI) from news articles via the World Wide Web, in Chinese and English, that focuses on multi-language filtering tools and follows a client-server model. System architecture and user-interest modeling are discussed. (LRW)

Describes a method of full-text scanning for matches in a large dictionary. The method is suitable for selective dissemination of information systems, accommodating large dictionaries and typical digital data rates. It can be implemented on a single commercially-available board hosted by a personal computer or entirely in software. (Author/AEF)

MyLibrary@NCState (North Carolina State University) is a customizable Web interface to the electronic resources licensed by the library and to the pages that compose the Web sites of the library and the university. The author, part of the MyLibrary@NCState management team, shares the thoughts and ideology behind the design of this personalized…

To support performance for an international audience of computer users, designers need to examine key elements of performance in relation to the design of systems. Discussion focuses on planning ahead for an international audience and preparing a design that keeps the performer, the process, and the information connected, resulting in optimal…

Rich Site Summary (RSS) is an XML format designed to let content providers share news headlines and content with other sites without having to create a completely new Web page. Discusses three issues to consider before creating a newsfeed: content integrity, bandwidth issues, and spellcheck. Identifies resources for getting started and the two…

Suggests an alternative document representation method based on "exemplary documents," those that describe or exhibit the intellectual structure of a particular field of interest. Exemplary documents provide both an indexing vocabulary for that area and a narrative context in which the indexing terms have a clearer meaning. It is much…

Presents an overview of the ways in which user/system interaction in interactive information-retrieval (IR) systems has been treated in IR research and practice over the years. Describes the characteristics of a number of IR systems, as well as proposals for IR systems, in light of challenges set for by John Bennett in 1971. Contains 82…

"MedLine Search Assistant" is a new interface for MEDLINE searching that improves both search precision and recall by helping the user convert a free text search to a controlled vocabulary-based search in a visual environment. Features of the interface are described, followed by details of the conceptual design and the physical design of…

Reviews the characteristics of the Cheshire II system that is being used to implement full-text and fielded searching of bibliographic information for the University of California Berkeley Digital Library Initiative. Examines its performance when applied to a collection of large full-text documents in the TREC Interactive Retrieval Track and its…

Examines visual information needs as expressed in users' Web image queries; the data set consisted of 1,025,908 sequential queries from 211,058 users of EXCITE, a major Internet search service. Provides data on: image queries, image search sessions, and image terms. Discusses implications for the development of models for visual information…

Suggests that the money spent ($100 billion) to fix the Y2K bug in the United States resulted in improved campus computer systems. Reports from campuses around the country indicate that both mainframe and desktop systems experienced fewer problems than expected. (DB)

Describes research aimed at investigating dynamically evolving database environments and corresponding schemata that allow storage and manipulation of variable length data, a variable number of fields per record, variable length records and fields, and dynamically defined objects. Proposes a new framework for dynamic database environments.…