A discussion of the effect of background color on the legibility of projected printed messages on transparencies. (Author)

By involving teachers in the process of materials selection, the British Columbia Ministry of Education took into account the interests and expertise of those who would have to live with the decisions made. By providing feedback to publishers and by generating quite rigorous selection criteria, better quality materials may evolve. (RM)

Studying ethnic music promotes a deeper understanding and acceptance of other peoples and provides an opportunity to study musical concepts. How to choose music materials to enhance social studies is discussed. A brief annotated bibliography is included. (RM)

A model for lesson design which accommodates adult learning based on the Gagne and Briggs (1979) model of instructional design is presented. Four stages of the lesson level are discussed--definition of performance objectives; preparing lesson plans; developing, selecting materials, media; and assessing student performance. Sixteen references are…

In two studies, sixth graders (Study 1) and fourth graders (Study 2) listened to or read a text. Some students were asked to imagine pictures of the material. Oral presentation of the material produced better results than written-only forms. Fourth graders benefited more from mental imagery than did sixth graders. (Author/JJD)

This report on the special session held by the American Association of School Librarians during the 1981 ALA midwinter meeting focuses on the use of microcomputers, videodiscs, and other forms of the newer technologies in school library media centers. Guidelines for selecting software and sources for additional information are included.…

Contains a check list to aid teachers in evaluating software used in computer-assisted instruction on microcomputers. The evaluation form contains three sections: program description, program evaluation, and overall evaluation. A brief description of a software evaluation program in use at the Granite School District in Utah is included. (JJD)

Describes one school district's system for evaluating and selecting microcomputer software for computer assisted instruction. The process includes a computer technology council in charge of evaluation and a software evaluation form (reproduced here in its entirety). (Author/JM)

A teacher of deaf high school students describes considerations in developing a computer lab, including equipment selection, class and subject scheduling, and suitable software. Examples of software used in his lab are cited, including Mathware's Math City and Apple's SUPERMATH program. (CL)

Argues that television has unique educational characteristics that separate it from other media and have implications for teaching and learning. Discussion of distributional and social, control, and symbolic (audiovisual) characteristics is based on published surveys and on research carried out at the Open University. Thirteen references are…

Evaluates five basal reading series used in Australia according to the criteria set forth by R. Brimble in the preceding article. (HTH)

Outlines American Library Association recommendations for writing policies and procedures covering the selection of instructional materials. (JM)

Evaluates the effectiveness of using motion/sound, slide/sound, and story boards in teaching a specific motor skill. Performance tests indicated that learners using motion film performed significantly better than those using either slides or workbooks, and required significantly less time. Thirteen references are listed. (Author/MER)

Presents an annotated bibliography of currently available resources for energy education in kindergarten through grade 12. Arranged alphabetically by agency, company, or institution producing the materials, each citation gives title, form of the material, price, and order information. Grade level is sometimes indicated. (BK)

This article describes the development of a tool for evaluating printed nutrition materials on the basis of readability, stereotyping, use of instructional aids, format, and content. The tool is intended to evaluate prenatal nutrition materials for pregnant adolescents. (Author/SA)