The purpose of this project was to provide guidance to ERIC on how to facilitate product information retrieval. Information on practitioner needs, on the use of descriptors and abstracting procedures, and on alternatives for improving the system was gathered and circulated to NIE staff members. The resulting document described three alternative…

Describes the research objectives, rationale, methodology, and findings of a model program developed at the Northwestern University Library, which examined whether online catalogs require instruction and, if so, how that instruction would be best delivered. (CLB)

Members of Special Libraries Association (SLA) were surveyed to determine whether they participated in continuing education activities, and, if so, the types of programs they preferred. It was found that they are active participants in continuing education programs, especially those dealing with online database searching and those sponsored by…

Describes the problem of non-use of classroom computers in an elementary school mathematics laboratory, and the use of a needs assessment survey and principles of instructional systems design to solve the problem. (19 references) (CLB)

Describes survey conducted among humanities faculty at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to assess their current use of and attitudes toward educational computing. Topics covered on the questionnaire include computer experience, skills and frequency of use, computer interest and anxiety, computer software, and use for instructional,…

Study of algebra students' response to availability of optional interactive computer graphing lessons analyzed responses of both users and non-users. Information sought included number of lessons completed, students' opinions of value and difficulty of lessons, whether students felt threatened by computer use, and relationship of gender and age to…

Respondents to a survey of educational software producers to determine extent to which computer assisted instruction courseware is fieldtested, and what this process involves, indicate that 52% fieldtested all their software. The relevance of these results to school media specialists and their role in selecting and evaluating software is…

Summarizes findings of several inquiries into use of media conducted from 1974-1986, emphasizing media use in developing countries and practical lessons and experiences that have surfaced in worldwide rural development programs. New educational technology developments are discussed as potential contributors to formal and nonformal education. (MBR)

Summarizes enrollment trends derived from a survey of American Camping Association camps conducted during the summer of 1986. Findings include greatest enrollment for New England with 75% of their camps filled to 90% or more, enrollment declines for the South and Midwest, and boys' camps fuller than coed or girls' camps. (JHZ)

Reports on a study of community college instructors' use of college services that support instructional innovation and development (i.e., audio-visual services, the library, computer services, counseling/tutoring/student services, and secretarial/word processing). Finds apparent lack of use of these services and lack of interest in instructional…

Describes a model enumerating cost factors for comparing costs for paper, online, and CD-ROM indexes and abstracts. The model is applied to start-up and annual costs, and to the cost of storing and providing access to ERIC, Applied Science and Fisheries Abstracts, and Excerpta Medica, based on anticipated academic library usage. (MBR)

This investigation of the effect of school-based equity strategies on seventh and eighth grade girls' voluntary computer usage found that girls in schools where the strategies were implemented used computers more than boys; the reverse was true in the control schools. Reasons why the intervention was successful are suggested. (LRW)

This study focused on the users of and their purpose in using the online bibliographic database DIALOG in the library at Wenatchee Valley College (Washington); cost effectiveness of the online system in a community college setting; amount of use the service received; and level of user satisfaction with the service. (MBR)

This longitudinal study examined relationships between children's television use and (1) parents' attitude toward their children's use of television and (2) children's school performance. Connections between television use and school results are demonstrated: children encouraged to watch age-appropriate programs who have help assimilating contents…

This paper reports past performance data for document delivery services provided by two libraries at University of Minnesota (Walter Library, Institute of Technology Libraries) and results of survey of faculty served by these services. Differences between users and nonusers, reasons for nonuse, and correlates of extent of use are discussed. (EJS)