Older computer applications are often caught in cycles where maintenance and operation become increasingly expensive, yet replacement costs are prohibitive. Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a strategic approach toward enhancing an existing alumni/fund-raising/gifts system to extend its life and avoid the capital costs associated…

Compares the computer assisted instruction (CAI) tutorial with its non-computerized pedagogical roots: the Socratic Dialog with Skinner's Programmed Instruction. Tests the effectiveness of a CAI tutorial on diffusion and osmosis against four other interactive and non-interactive instructional strategies. Notes computer based strategies were…

Assesses BRUNET, a campuswide network that links more than 100 academic and administrative buildings and 40 dormitories. Notes a key element is hierarchical network management and support. Discusses the deployment, security, and use of four networking spheres in the system. (MVL)

A professor at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (New York) describes an instructional approach used in a computer applications course. The approach employed classroom and individual interactions with deaf and hard-of-hearing students, personal computer demonstrations, laboratory sessions for hands-on learning, and criterion-referenced…

A British school for students with disabilities planned and implemented its curriculum differentiation process by entering the core curriculum into a computer and coding each learning objective, thereby allowing teachers to draw out an individual program for each pupil, varied in length and time scale according to individual needs, and to evaluate…

Describes a project in which a team of Native and non-Native secondary school students used computer and video technology to archive cultural information, language, and history of the Yinka Dene (Carrier Indians) of central British Columbia. Discusses phases in the development of a multimedia database. (Author/SV)

At Brigham Young University, the admissions office organized its staff in teams and built a computer software system to support the teams. An improved worker sense of responsibility and increased emphasis on human factors resulted in dramatically increased productivity as measured by number of admissions applications processed and completed.…

North Dakota State University has adopted automated timekeeping to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of payroll processing. The microcomputer-based system accurately records and computes employee time, tracks labor distribution, accommodates complex labor policies and company pay practices, provides automatic data processing and reporting,…

Defines the six key pressures that have given rise to the emerging enterprise academic-computing imperative. These include the pressure to (1) improve instructional quality; (2) unify disparate academic-computing resources; (3) demonstrate return on network investment; (4) reach more students; (5) lower costs in delivery of instruction; and (6)…

AIMS, the Assessment and Instructional Management System is a computer-based rating and documentation system designed to include students with disabilities in educational accountability systems. Describes AIMS, illustrates some of the components of the system, and highlights teacher training efforts. Two tables present the AIMS rating rubric and…

This second of a two-part article introducing the steps in a school district's teacher professional development model discusses steps three through six: Web page or project; Internet Discovery (with its five phases-question, search, interpretation, composition, sharing); Cyberinquiry; and WebQuests. Three examples are included: Web Page…

This first of a two-part article addressing the need to provide teachers with the skills and the instructional techniques to engage and challenge students by providing relevant technology instruction directly with a clearly delineated scope and sequence that scaffolds the adult learning from simple to more complex learning. Includes a model for…

Recent efforts to develop Spanish-based adaptations for alternate computer input devices are considered, as are their implications for Hispanics with disabilities and for the development of language sensitive devices worldwide. Emphasis is placed on the particular need to develop low-cost high technology devices for Puerto Rico and Latin America…

The Multi-User Simulation Environment (MUSE) software is designed to motivate students across many age levels to engage in reading, writing, problem-solving, and collaborative and creative projects. MUSE software provides a text-based, virtual world on computers connected to a network, allowing synchronous and asynchronous communication among…

This paper describes a college math and computer science educator's experience integrating multimedia materials in classroom instruction. It serves as a "tutorial" for non-computer science educators considering adding multimedia presentations to their instruction. The paper covers: the time commitment for developing and integrating multimedia…