Recent technological advances and new software packages put unprecedented power for experimenting and theory-building in the hands of students at all levels. Microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) and model-solving tools illustrate the educational potential of the technology. These tools include modeling software and three MBL packages (which are…

This ERIC Digest examines the uses of databases in the social studies, including what a database is and how to use it, types of databases available for social studies classroom use, and the role this educational tool can play in achieving the goals and objectives of the social studies. A distinction between print and computerized database files…

The effects of a multidimensional latent trait space on estimation of item and person parameters by the computer program LOGIST are examined. Several item pools were simulated that ranged from truly unidimensional to an inconsequential general latent trait. Item pools with intermediate levels of prepotency of the general latent trait were also…

Microcomputers need to be introduced and effectively managed in academic organizations, where compatibility becomes an important issue as users wish to communicate with other users via computer. The need to standardize hardware and software thus becomes an important issue. The first step in selecting a microcomputer standard is the selection of a…

A practical guide to conducting and reporting graduate-level research projects outlines each step in the research process and discusses both practical and theoretical considerations. Chapter 1 addresses idea and topic development. Chapter 2 discusses the purposes, procedures, and sources for literature reviews and searches. In chapter 3, the…

This courseware evaluation rates the Design Your Own Home program developed by Avant-Garde Publishing Company. (The program--not contained in this document--uses standard architectural scales and 126 shapes to allow creation of structural floorplans and sideviews.) Part A describes the program in terms of subject area and hardware requirements…

This publication is an annotated guide to software for teaching adult literacy recommended by the Adult Basic Skills Technology (ABST) Project. The ABST Project was initiated in 1982 as the Region X Adult Education Software Project, an effort by the State Adult Basic Education Departments of Washington, Oregon, and Alaska to provide adult basic…

The paper reports an inter-agency cooperative project to investigate the use of different instructional data bases to determine which characteristics were most facilitative for the instruction of 14- and 15-year-old urban students with a range of abilities in a summer career exploration program. Special education and rehabilitation professionals…

As part of a long-range information systems planning effort at the University of Miami, the impact of technology on the organization was assessed. The assessment covered hardware, office automation, systems and database software, and communications. The trends in computer hardware point toward continued decreasing size and cost, placing computer…

This description of activities initiated through the Computer Technology Project of the provincial education ministry in Alberta, Canada, covers the 2-year period beginning with establishment of the project by the Alberta Department of Education in October 1981. Activities described include: (1) the establishment of the Office of Educational…

This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of a computer literacy program for 4-year-old Head Start students and their teachers that was developed through the efforts of the Indianapolis Head Start program, the Children's Museum, and the Indiana University School of Education. The report covers: (1) the objectives of the program; (2) a…

This report briefly describes the background, software, tools used, and future directions of the Scholarly Services project which began in 1987 in the OCLC Office of Research. Several selected projects are reviewed to illustrate how sample data are extracted from the OCLC Online Union Catalog to support scholars in their research endeavors. The…

This narrative report summarizes topics addressed at a 2-day seminar sponsored by the South Carolina State Library in cooperation with the State Office of Adult Education and the South Carolina Literacy Association, which was designed to promote coordination and cooperative long-range planning of volunteer library literacy programs in the state…

This paper describes the characteristics of lexicographic software programs used in a module on Alexander Pope's "The Rape of the Lock," a major component of a course on computer-assisted learning (CAL) at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Two of the databases are specific to that school and are small, individualized, and…

The second annual report of the 4-year Project CREATE describes activities toward the Project's overall objective of determining how effective microcomputer and related technologies can be in improving the education of learning disabled students. During the second year examination of factors understood to contribute to the beneficial use of…