Discusses a visual programming language, Function Machine Lab, which helps students with the concept of function using the function machine image. (MKR)

Describes the SAM (Simulation and Multimedia) project and the rationales behind it. SAM focuses mainly on integrated simulation-based learning environments and creates a framework for authoring, modelling, and learning. SAM methods and techniques are developed to design adaptable courses to meet different learner profiles and to integrate…

Discusses the relevance of computer games to the design of computer-based training materials. Highlights include intrinsic motivation and computer-based games; the cultural distinction between work and recreation; the transient motivational effect of games; the differences in use of computer systems; hypermedia authoring systems; and virtual…

Discusses the possibilities for improving courseware and the courseware engineering process using visualization. Advantages and disadvantages of visualization are considered, including psychological, instructional, motivational, cross-cultural, and technical aspects; visual programming systems are described; adaptation and rapid prototyping are…

Describes MARC bibliographic records and presents conversion procedures for microcomputer database programs. Highlights include database design in dBase; format translation programs in BASIC; translating MARC into a delimited record; and writing records from dBase to a delimited file. Five programs are appended. (Contains nine references.) (LRW)

Focuses on ways to meet the facility needs of students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Provides a definition of inclusion; discusses some processes to design school environments that support a side range of student needs; and presents a process that will enable facility planning teams to move all students from self-contained classrooms…

Examined whether use of robotics had a greater effect on elementary school children's achievement in science concepts and problem-solving abilities than use of battery-powered motorized manipulatives or no manipulatives. Found no significant difference in achievement from use of robotics except in programming language problem solving. Both…

Discusses the state of children's television in Australia and considers possibilities for the future. Topics include regulatory frameworks and requirements for children's programs; imported programming, including animated material; the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; and values promoted to children. (LRW)

Examines mobile agent coordination and presents TuCSoN, a coordination model for Internet applications based on mobile information agents that uses a tuple centre, a tuple space enhanced with the capability of programming its behavior in response to communication events. Discusses the effectiveness of the TuCSoN model in the contexts of Internet…

Contributes to scholarship on the effects of television on children. Finds that the most important characteristics valued by both Dutch and U.S. children 6 to 11 years old were comprehensibility and action, closely followed by humor, "interestingness,""innocuousness," realism, violence, and romance. Finds boys in both samples…

Focusing on languages for the Dublin Core, examines the experience of some related ways to seek semantic interoperability through simplicity: planned languages, interlingua constructs, and pidgins. Also defines the conceptual and organizational problem of maintaining a metadata standard in multiple languages. (AEF)

Analyzed the discourse about television programs of 1,300 5- to 13-year-olds from England and Wales. Found that discourse expressed socially responsible and public service values in evaluating programs. Explained finding in terms of children's adaptation to task requirements and ability to access different kinds of adult discourse available in the…

Provides examples of ways to use the television show "Scientific American Frontiers" in the classroom. Outlines a range of approaches and discusses some motivational techniques to engage students. (DDR)

Teachers who want to show their students how to use multimedia in their projects should consider using HyperStudio. Four sites listed show HyperStudio's capabilities. Discussion includes publishing HyperStudio stacks on the Internet. Sites for more information are also listed. (AEF)

Explains what XML (Extensible Markup Language) is; where to find it in a few years (everywhere from Web pages, to database management systems, to common campus applications); issues that will make XML somewhat of an experimental strategy in the near term; and the importance of decision-makers being abreast of XML trends in standards, tools…