This study of undergraduates investigates how cognitive style, online database experience, and task type influence users' search behavior on the Web. Considers time spent, the number of nodes visited, search performance, navigational style, and ways to improve Web interfaces and Web user training programs. (Author/LRW)

Reviews the top periodical databases for elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools based on the opinions of library media specialists and teachers. Explains the evaluation criteria which include searchability; navigability; help available; appearance, including consistency of page design; reading level; speed; document printing and…

Describes a study of university students that examined the influences of navigation in hypertext learning environments and discusses advantages and disadvantages of hypertext as instructional media. Discusses active (self-directed) versus passive (pre-sequenced) access; knowledge acquisition; emotional outcomes; and knowledge utilization with a…

The Virtual Grand Tour (VGT) is a paradigm for integrating a presentation of an overview of a larger subject with the possibility of launching at any time an exploratory study of a given sub-topic. The name derives from the paradigm's emulation of those 18th-century travels intended to educate (especially) young, affluent British men; today, with…

As more archival metadata and archival records become available online, providing effective interfaces to those materials is increasingly important to give users access. This article describes five approaches from the hypertext and visualization research communities which can be used to improve such access: (1) navigating hierarchical structures,…

University students participated in a research project on communities and conservation on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Students contributed by gathering data with various methods that will be compiled in a GIS. Living in three villages at different elevations on the mountain, students facilitated GPS mapping, a random survey of over 90…

According to James Robertson, the managing director of Step Two Designs, a content management consultancy, "A content management system supports the creation, management, distribution, publishing, and discovery of corporate information. It covers the complete lifecycle of the pages of one's site, from providing simple tools to create the…

This paper describes an approach for developing adaptive electronic textbooks and presents InterBook, an authoring tool based on this approach which simplifies the development of adaptive electronic textbooks on the World Wide Web. The following topics are discussed: (1) content structuring, including the domain and user models, the glossary, and…

A new Courseware Development Environment (CoDE) is currently being developed for Hyperwave World Wide Web servers. CoDE provides instructional designers with an easy-to-use yet powerful environment to develop online training; students have the ability to access this training using a standard Web browser. Functionality of the Hyperwave server is…

A variety of learning activities are presented in this workbook, one of three related documents prepared to teach the skills essential for safe boating behavior in all recreational boating activities. Twenty workbook activities are correlated with material covered in class sessions and information contained in the resource manual developed for the…

A study assessed the training effectiveness of instructional materials designed in accordance with three format models for (1) recalling facts about equipment, (2) applying rules and regulations, and (3) classifying objects and signals. Three types of self-paced instructional materials were compared: learning aids, programmed instruction, and…

This 35-item, multiple-choice Marine Education Knowledge Inventory was developed for use in upper elementary/middle schools to measure a student's knowledge of marine science. Content of test items is drawn from oceanography, ecology, earth science, navigation, and the biological sciences (focusing on marine animals). Steps in the construction of…

Ten lessons are included in this interdisciplinary unit on navigation, designed to supplement fifth and sixth grade social studies and science curricula. Each lesson includes: (1) lesson concepts; (2) competency goals; (3) objectives; (4) materials; (5) list of key vocabulary words; (6) background information; (7) teacher preparation; (8) list of…

This Rate Training Manual and Nonresident Career Course (RTM/NRCC) form a self-study package that will enable Navy radiomen to help themselves to fulfill the requirements of their rating. Of the seventeen chapters in the manual, the first is nontechnical, providing information concerning the radioman rating and the Navy advancement system and…

Designed to acquaint students at Triton Regional High School (Massachusetts) with the importance of the salt marshes and marine environment around Triton, this outdoor education curriculum guide includes three sections emphasizing an interdisciplinary approach to physics, ecology, and history. The unit is designed for 50 students and 5 teachers…