Intermediate level academically talented students learn essential elements of computer programming by working with robots at enrichment workshops at Dwight-Englewood School in Englewood, New Jersey. The children combine creative thinking and problem-solving skills to program the robots' microcomputers to perform a variety of movements. (JDD)

This study compares two animated programs set in prehistoric times, "Cro" (an educational program about technology) and "The Flintstones" (a noneducational program). Results indicated that Cro's technology content was salient to children but children did not distinguish between the programs on the basis of their educational…

XML is a newly released subset of SGML that is intended to extend the benefits of that standard to the World Wide Web. Differences between SGML and XML are outlined, potential benefits are discussed, and answers are provided for some frequently asked questions regarding XML. (AEF)

Discusses the WebDAV Distributed Authoring Protocol which provides standards that allow easier collaborative authoring over the World Wide Web. Topics include Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), overwrite prevention, access control, searching, metadata, XML (Extensible Markup Language), and Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). (LRW)

Asks how the "Art in America" radio programs illustrate the way educational mass media emerged from its forerunners of adult education, museums, libraries, and distance education. Discusses the precursors to the program, its production, the programs as education and as entertainment, and how listeners learned from radio. (DSK)

Proposes that automatic speech recognition (ASR) can effectively increase students' learning twofold over conventional self-study materials. Past and current efforts at the U.S. Military Academy are described that are aimed at integrating advanced ASR into courseware-authoring systems. (Author/VWL)

Presents a prototype authoring tool for interactive educational software called Investigate and Decide Learning Environments (IDLE-Tool). Introduces IDLE-Tool as the task model around which the tool is based. A model of the authoring process called Guided Case Adaptation is offered as an approach to employing models and an exemplar to effectively…

Discusses the reasons for careful evaluation of students' programs by a skilled programmer. Suggests that grades for programs must be partly based on quality factors such as clarity, organization, conciseness, and maintainability. (ASK)

To reduce attrition in an entry-level programming class, students who performed poorly on the first exam were matched with interested alumni, who could only communicate with their mentorees by e-mail, mail, or phone. The program produced a significant reduction in overall course attrition and for the at-risk students. (Author/AEF)

Describes a multimedia-based Russian language course developed at Colgate University (NY) and a multimedia authoring system that makes the creation of such courses technically feasible for language instructors. The use of movies, foreign language instruction, principles of design, development frameworks, and future plans are discussed. (Author/LRW)

Examines the effect of network and public television programs on children's: ability to attend to a task, time on task, and engagement in rough-and-tumble play. Sixty-two children were assigned to one of three groups that watched: (1) a public television program; (2) a network television program; and (3) no television and instead played with…

The impact of new digital technologies on traditional broadcasting and television offer a valuable opportunity to revisit educational and public broadcasting partnerships. Examples of areas in which public television can help education include: pedagogy, standards, assessment, teacher training and support; digital television; intellectual property…

How did educators become enslaved to networked computers and mesmerized by iridescent screens? The computer encourages endless acquisitions, some motivated by intellectual avarice, others by petty jealousies incited by colleagues raving about the latest "innovation." How much computer literacy is sufficient? What other literacies must…

Describes the Interactive Multimedia Distribution System (IMDS) at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) that started as a library information system and evolved to include campuswide access, interactivity, random access, random search, multimedia authoring, cross-platform capability, Web environment, media digitizing, video on…

Discusses why information technology managers are exploring the economic and strategic advantages of Web technology and finding that legacy systems still have an important role. Presents benefits: centralized management, reduced cost of ownership, wide user access; models of Web-to-host access; the Citrix thin client model; and future of…