Discusses computer assisted instruction programs that deal with the specific area of the modeling of systems and the programing techniques that affect their educational value. An environment intended to increase the impact of interactive CAI is described and developed. (Author/CHC)

The basic office skills will be more necessary than ever in the office of the future, says the author in describing basic skills that should be taught for the word processing system: business English, language and communication skills, proofreading and editing, letter-writing principles, and communication psychology. (MF)

Outlines the technological evolution and the use of computers and telecommunications in information transactions and data storage. (CWM)

To improve services and reduce costs, Babson College (Massachusetts) has begun continuous quality improvement and reengineering, moving rapidly toward a client/server information technology environment and Internet/Intranet-enabled business processes. The evolution of the strategy and its products, underlying technologies, and development process…

Presents a stratified model of information retrieval interaction that views interaction as a dialog between participants (user and computer) through an interface. Discusses traditional and interaction models, and extension to relevance, user modeling, search term selection, and types of feedback in information retrieval. (AEF)

Explores the systemological approach of dialogism as a new way of couching the problem of person-machine dialog in human-computer interaction. Concludes that a human-computer interaction community reflecting upon the future of interface will gain bona fide self-awareness from conceptualizing the machine as a component of society, rather than a…

Describes the development of learning companion systems and their contributions to the class of social learning systems that integrate artificial intelligence agents and use machine learning to tutor and interact with students. Outlines initial social learning projects, their programming languages, and weakness. Future improvements will include…

Maintains that diagnosis, explanation, and tutoring, the functions of an interactive learning environment, are collaborative processes. Examines how human-computer interaction can be improved using a distributed cognition framework. Discusses situational and distributed knowledge theories and provides a model on how they can be used to redesign…

Describes the Okapi projects and the work of the Centre for Interactive Systems Research at the City University of London (England). Okapi, an experimental text retrieval system, has been used as the basis for a series of projects addressing aspects of user information-seeking behavior and user-system interaction, as well as system design.…

Describes study of students at a two-year community college that was conducted to examine descriptive references to a computer for differences in interactive styles when reporting success and failure experiences while using a computer for word processing. Differences that relate to gender and computer experience are also analyzed. (18 references)…

Discusses the integration of videodisc technology into classrooms and presents criteria for evaluating the interactivity of videodiscs. Three levels of interactive videodiscs (IVD) are described, and a criteria checklist is included that evaluates skill development, simulation, feedback, the interaction of the student manual with the electronic…

Describes a project in England that enhanced distance learning by providing tutorial support using digitized voice and data transmission. The technical aspects of the microcomputer-based system that was developed are highlighted, including design strategy; hardware and software components; system interactions; and voice mail usage. (LRW)

Discussion of courseware evaluation for computer-based training (CBT) highlights the CITAR Computer Courseware Evaluation Model (CCEM), which was developed at the Center for Interactive Technology, Applications, and Research (CITAR) at the University of South Florida. Instructional and interactive characteristics of commercially available CBT…

Describes a study that investigated the performance of preschoolers and children in the first three years of formal education on tasks that involved skills using a mouse-based control of a graphical computer interface. The children's performance is compared with that of novice adult users and expert users. (five references) (LRW)

Describes the Book House, an interactive, multimedia online public access catalog (OPAC) developed in Denmark that uses icons, text, and animation. An alternative design model that addresses problems in OPACs is described; and database design, system navigation, use for fiction retrieval, and evaluation are discussed. (20 references) (MES)