Argues that a focus on building an authoring tool for a complete learning environment is misplaced. Analyzes the task of authoring a commercial educational system. Describes the Visual Translator, an authoring tool written specifically for this purpose. (Author/CCM)

Describes ongoing work in designing modular software components based on open standards and a specific instructional design theoryuinstructional transaction theory. Focuses on applied technological solutions to overcome identified limitations of current authoring environments, including proprietary architectures, instructional design theory…

Discusses the poor technical and design quality of many Web sites and provides tips for improving quality: use meta tags; provide page sponsor identification, links back to home page, page titles; display a paragraph describing the purpose of the Web page; avoid using frames and publishing pages under construction; check language and mechanics;…

Discusses new trends in the World Wide Web. Highlights include multimedia; digitized audio-visual files; compression technology; telephony; virtual reality modeling language (VRML); open architecture; and advantages of Java, an object-oriented programming language, including platform independence, distributed development, and pay-per-use software.…

Shows how some of the simple ideas in complexity can be investigated using a spreadsheet and a macro written in Visual Basic. Shows how the sandpile model of Bak, Chao, and Wiesenfeld can be simulated and animated. The model produces results that cannot easily be predicted from its properties. (Author/MM)

Discusses the development and introduction of expert tutoring systems (ETS), or intelligent tutoring systems. Explains MONAP-PLUS, an example of an authoring tool for the design of an ETS that includes models of the subject domain, the learner, and the learning process; a user-friendly interface; and techniques for developing algorithmic…

Reviews research on computer programming and discusses implications for future research across various computer applications. Suggests future research needs, including expanding knowledge of what students/teachers learn in various environments, and investigating how unique features of various programming environments interact with goals and…

Examines 16 high school computer textbooks used in Taiwan with an attempt to analyze the nature and the presentation styles of programming examples in them. Concludes that presentation of programming examples in most of the analyzed textbooks lacked a detailed explanation of some of the problem-solving steps. (Contains 26 references.) (Author/ASK)

Discusses ways in which technology is changing mathematics education. Highlights include guidelines for appropriate technology use in the mathematics classroom; the impact of computers on mathematics learning; common uses of computers in mathematics education, including software, the Internet, and programming; and issues and concerns related to…

In school construction projects a great deal of work and planning needs to happen before ground breaking starts. Lists consistent factors that should always be considered when setting up a facility-design timeline. (MLF)

Students at all levels benefit from a multi-faceted approach to learning abstract material. The most commonly used technique in teaching the pure theory of international trade is a combination of geometry and algebraic derivations. Numerical simulation can provide a valuable third support to these approaches. The author describes a simple…

Over the last 5 years we have developed, produced, tested, and evaluated an authoring software package to produce web-based, interactive, audio-enhanced language-learning material. That authoring package has been used to produce language-learning material in French, Spanish, German, Arabic, and Tamil. We are currently working on increasing…

Item response theory (IRT) has become one of the most popular scoring frameworks for measurement data. IRT models are used frequently in computerized adaptive testing, cognitively diagnostic assessment, and test equating. This article reviews two of the most popular software packages for IRT model estimation, BILOG-MG (Zimowski, Muraki, Mislevy, &…

For more than a quarter of century, researchers have been studying the effects of TV viewing on both children and adults. Although controversies still exist, the data presents a clear picture of increased aggression in all age groups following the viewing of ?violent? TV. In this article, the author discusses how to help a child who is negatively…

The impact of the radio in the 1930s can be compared to the force of change in people's lives today caused by current technology. Marguerite V. Hood (1903-92), a recognized leader in the music education profession during the 1930s, understood the importance of music education radio broadcasts for rural one-room schools and music education classes.…