Describes the development of a booklet and video for teacher education students on the use of distance-education technology in remote rural Australian schools. Provides an overview of the use of 15 information technologies in the 8 Australian states and territories. (SV)

Chemsource is a set of instructional materials designed as a resource for high school chemistry teachers, particularly those not trained in the discipline. Materials consist of a videotape demonstrating both generic and science-specific teaching skills and a textbook on varied chemistry topics, including suggested teaching techniques and…

Describes three learner assessment strategies and their possible effects on text design strategies for distance education materials. Prior knowledge, reading ability and text readability, and learning styles are examined; learner characteristics and potential instructional strategies are discussed; and the relationship of learning styles to…

Discusses the lack of qualified teachers in South Africa to encourage reading in a second language among school children and describes a series of posters and a lectern stand developed by the Shell Education Service that provide teachers with supportive aids that increase their confidence. (LRW)

Describes two new multimedia products developed by IBM that are interdisciplinary, multicultural, and nongraded (i.e., suitable for elementary grades through college): (1) Columbus: Encounter, Discovery and Beyond; and (2) Illuminated Books and Manuscripts, which explores interrelationships between five literary works and other subject areas. The…

State constitutional law is an emerging area for legal education, partly because of state supreme court decisions relying on state rather than federal constitutional law. Studying state constitutional law highlights similarities and diversity of legal and governmental systems. Interest in establishment of curricula and materials in state law is…

Examines the change in direction from materials development to staff development at the Centre for Developing English Language Teaching, Ain Shams University. Staff development was found to be a necessary step to enhancing the impact of a curriculum change. (21 references) (GLR)

Discusses the publication process as well as research and development activities of The Magazine Group, the part of the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) that produces print materials for children, parents, and elementary school teachers. Highlights include reformatting a magazine, testing story appeal, testing children's humor, and the…

Describes the design of a prototype multiauthor multimedia document production (MAMMDP) system. Discusses the problems of finding an appropriate task analysis technique, and introduces background concepts. Examines how the system's tasks were analyzed and represented during the early stages of the design. (AEF)

Describes a layered analytical framework for discussing design and educational issues that can be shared by the many different stakeholders involved in educational multimedia design and deployment. Illustrates the framework using a detailed analysis of the Galapagos Pilot project of the Open University science faculty which examines the processes…

Describes a seminar at Brown University where undergraduate students design and develop software for K-12 schools based on proposals of teachers in and around Providence (Rhode Island). Discusses seminar goals, working with schools, division of labor between teachers and seminar students, creating the software, student benefits, and using…

Discusses the design of multimedia for international audiences and provides recommendations for instructional-design principles for global audiences. Highlights include knowing the target audience, user testing, language versions, common international symbols, cultural differences, values and customs, fonts, screen size and display, and copyright…

This survey questioned instructional designers about the increasing use of automated instructional design software to develop computer-based training (CBT). While these automated tools compact the complicated production process, educators complain that the resulting software often presents lock-stepped, linear instruction that neglects the…

Describes the design and development of Internet-based instruction for a physiological psychology class. Discusses reasons for selecting the Internet-based form; tools needed to create the instructional materials; development and implementation of the Psychology Electronic Teaching Source (PETS) site; instructional delivery; feedback; and benefits…

Describes guided research pages, which eliminate the enormous amount of time it can take to refine a World Wide Web search and give that time, instead, to student research. Discusses advantages, and presents examples of simple, interactive, and dynamic guided pages for the seventh- and eighth-grade classroom. (AEF)