This document contains teachers' materials for a 10-module, 1-semester technology education course in product design offered in grades 11 and 12 in North Carolina. The document begins with a rationale for the development of the course; an explanation of the elements in an instructional system; a rationale for the course; a description of the…

The history of playground safety standards since the 1890s is reviewed and the lack of improvements in safety made since that time is demonstrated. The first formal effort to develop standards for playground apparatus was made by the National Recreation Association (NRA) in 1929. A major concern in this and a 1938 NRA report was the choice of safe…

Papers presented and summaries of discussions at a 3-day conference which focused on screen displays for online catalogs are included in this report. Papers presented were: (1) "Suggested Guidelines for Screen Layouts and Design of Online Catalogs" (Joseph R. Matthews); (2) "Displays in Database Search Systems" (Fran Spigai);…

This publication provides suggestions and considerations that may be useful for school jurisdictions developing facilities for computers in schools. An interim report for both use and review, it is intended to assist school system planners in clarifying the specifications needed by the architects, other design consultants, and purchasers involved.…

Designed to be used as a model for workshop planning, this report describes the development and implementation of a series of four summer workshops, entitled "Computers Plus," which were designed to increase the computer literacy of teachers and administrators. Intended to provide introductory students with basic concepts, hands-on…

This paper summarizes research in modern cognitive theory that relates to the role of computer drill and practice programs in learning and describes a prototype program that exemplifies recommended characteristics. Focus is on four major issues that are relevant to the design and optimization of computer drills: interference, spaced practice,…

Six instructional units offer guidance in the process of writing printed educational materials. Each unit provides objectives, writing exercises and activities, and end-of-unit discussion questions. Unit 1 considers the first steps in writing, emphasizing the importance of varying instruction according to student needs and background and…

A study of the libraries cooperating in the Fox Valley (Wisconsin) Interlibrary Loan Network compared alternative equipment and communications scenarios which would satisfy the functions desired by the libraries. The dominant communications need identified through a survey of network participants was the sending of interlibrary loan requests among…

The 1973 remodeling of the Emmanuel Mounier Lycee in Grenoble, France, shows how a secondary educational facility can respond to expanding school offerings. As background to the lycee's expansion, the author, who was principal of the school during its remodeling, provides general information on the French educational system and on the consequent…

This paper develops a rationale for individualization of instruction and after a brief discussion of two alternative approaches--diagnostic-prescriptive teaching and modularized instruction--promotes learning centers as a practical approach to such individualization. Learning centers are defined as compact, highly-structured sets of didactic…

This report focuses on a discussion of findings from analyses of computer transaction logs contributed by four of the online catalog systems used in the Public Access Project. It supplements the analyses of User and Non-User Questionnaires by providing analyses of data from the systems themselves. The four systems contributing data to this…

This self-instructional module includes learner objectives, text, practice exercises and answer sheets addressing developments in research on learning environments and why instructional technologists should take the lead in applying the resulting knowledge to the design of training areas. Favorable learning environments are described in general…

This guide provides the highlights of a demonstration session on how to prepare a newsletter using Multiscribe and Appleworks, as well as suggestions for preparing other publications. It includes basic guidelines for preparing a newsletter; directions for using Multiscribe/Appleworks to produce a newsletter; a sample media center newsletter;…

This report provides a brief description of a 1986 conference on distance education together with four of the papers presented by the five keynote speakers; an outline of the fifth paper is included. It is noted that, in addition to these papers, the conference included 26 application sessions which allowed the 183 participants to select issues…

In most existing computer assisted instruction (CAI), the nature of the instruction would not actually require a computer. Text is presented and read, questions are asked, and then materials are presented or reviewed depending on students' answers. There are two problems with this approach: computer capabilities for interactive task simulation are…